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READINGS 


EPHESIANS 


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EPHESIANS. 

NOTES 


OF  THE 


Daily  Noon  Bible  Readings 


IN   THE 


Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 


DURING  MARCH   AND  APRIL,  i8j} 


BY 

MALACHI     TAYLOR, 

At  228-9  Temple  Court, 


PRKSS  OF 

Exchange  Printing  CompanYj  47  Broad  Street,  New  York. 


LOAN  STACK 


^S  j 


Ti 
M 

A  MEETING  has  been  held  for  more  than  seven 
years,  daily,  for  reading  the  Scriptures,  at  the  noon 
hour,  in  229  Temple  Court,  New  York  City.  The 
following  are  notes  from  one  month's  teachings, 
there.  Those  who  heard  were  desirous  of  having 
them  in  a  permanent  form,  and  so  had  them  taken 
down  stenographically  and  printed.  The  colloquial 
and  conversational  style  in  which  they  were  given 
has  been  preserved  by  special  desire,  which  was 
emphasized  by  the  request  that  they  be  not  altered, 
at  all,  but  published  as  spoken.  Some  portions 
were  cut  out  as  being  mere  repetitions. 

The  "  readings "  are  now  given  to  a  wider  atten- 
tion, with  the  prayer  that  He  whose  word  it  is 
may  afford  comfort  and  refreshing  through  these 
pages  to  His  saints. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  noon  meetings  may  be  kept 
up  till  the  Lord  come. 


1:29 


INDEX 


Chapter  T page   3 


II. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 


50 

76 

110 

144 

168 


Readings  in  Ephhsians. 


CHAPTER  I. 

In  this  book  we  are  taken  into  the  counsels  of  God, 
in  Himself,  before  the  ages ;  all  connected  with 
Christ,  whom  He  had  in  His  mind,  who  was  really 
in  the  Father's  bosom  ever— the  Son  of  His  love, 
according  to  Prov.  viii.  22-31,  where  we  find  Him 
the  Object  of  His  special  delight  from  eternity,  while 
His  own  thoughts  and  His  desire  were  toward  the 
sons  of  men,  rejoicing  in  the  habitable  parts  of  the 
earth. 

Now  we  take  up  these  precious  thoughts  of  God 
that  have  included  us;  taking  us  up,  apart  from 
anything  in  us  but  worthlessness  ;  for  it  was  impos- 
sible for  God  to  carry  out  these  richest  and  most 
minute  thoughts  of  His  until  the  cross  had  demon- 
strated the  true  worthlessness  and  incorrigibility  of 
man.  There  was  nothing  good  in  him,  and  he  could 
not  be  corrected ;  he  was  without  strength ;  indeed, 
that  becomes  the  reason  as  well  as  the  occasion  and 
opportunity  for  God  to  work  His  works ;  that  there 
was  no  hope  in  him,  no  strength,  really  nothing.  Of 
course  it  will  bring  out  this.  And  all  practical  truth 
flowing  out  from  this  will  be,  not  our  doing  some- 
thing as  springing  from  ourselves, — no  such  word  as 
"  you  are  saved  if  you  do,"  but  that  the  doing  is  but 
the  acting  out  of  what  He  has  made  us,  and  in  nowise 


^helps  the  salvation,  simply  manifests  it.  There  is 
nothing  that  brings  so  rich  an  expression  of  doing 
as  saved,  according  to  the  tone  and  elevation  of  our 
place  as  in  the  heavens,  and  belonging  there ;  and 
therefore  denying  everything  that  belongs  to  the 
earth,  and  in  principle  putting  it  to  death  and  nega- 
tiving it,  all  the  way  through,  as  this  wondrous  book. 
[  It  is  marvelous  how  a  little  book  like  this  can  con- 
\  tain  so  much.  It  grasps  vastly  more  than  the  whole 
I  of  the  Old  Testament  together.  It  brings  us  into 
fellowship  with  God,  according  to  things  that  were 
never  made  known  to  the  Old  Testament  saints  or 
writers  or  the  angels  that  surround  His  throne. 
They  were  in  His  own  counsels,  waiting  until  He 
could  come  out  and  tell  them  all ;  when  He  should 
have  Christ  Jesus  in  the  glory ;  the  Son  of  God  by 
title  of  what  He  had  done  down  here,  as  well  as  the 
Son  in  Himself  before  He  came  down  here.  And 
'  none  other  could  give  it  but  the  Apostle  Paul,  be- 
cause none  other  had  the  revelation  of  Jesus  as  the 
J  Son  of  God  in  the  glory.  It  is  not  simply  as  in  the 
Father's  bosom— the  only  begotten  Son  of  God— He 
was  that  when  He  came  into  the  world,  and  was  so 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world ;  that  He  was 
every  step  that  he  took  along  here  through  these 
scenes.  But  now  He  gets  a  new  title  as  raised  up  into 
heaven  and  having  accomplished  everything.  This 
Man  that  met  the  whole  matter  of  guilt  and  sin  and 
ruin  God  raised  up  into  the  glory. 

And  now  it  is  but  carrying  out  the  beginning  of 
this  great  structure  of  which  we  form  a  part ;  we  are 
in  it  as  He  is  in  it ;  He  is  the  Head  and  cap-stone  and 
foundation,  and  everything  !  The  model,  plan,  pat- 
tern ;  and  we,  part  and  parcel  with  Him  ! 

So,  you  see,  we  come  into  the  richest  thing  that 
God  has  to  tell  of  His  thoughts  concerning  His  Son, 
and  concerning  us  with  Him.    It  is  true,  this  is  not 


a  book  of  worship ;  that  is  Hebrews  ;  that  is  telling 
us,  as  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling,  we  are  to 
be  occupied  with  Him.  This  is  not  telling  us  about 
our  place  in  order  to  occupy  us  vnth  our  place,  but  to 
make  us  know  the  dignity  and  the  character  and  full 
breadth  and  stature  of  such  a  position,  and  to  make 
us  walk  in  conformity  with  it.  God  is  looking  for 
character.  If  Christ  was  the  character  of  God,  as 
the  word  used  in  Hebrews,  "The  express  image  of 
His  person,"  so  are  we  the  character  of  God's  mind, 
the  highest  thought  and  the  highest  glory ;  taken  out 
to  be  the  expression  of  His  thought  in  all  the  ages  to 
come. 

Thus  we  come  to  this  book,  to  follow  it  step  by 
step.  As  Romans  shows  the  righteousness  of  God, 
beginning  with  us  as  guilty  sinners  and  proving  us 
guilty,  so  this  reveals  the  ineffable  expression  of 
His  grace,  "the  riches  of  His  grace,"  and  the  un- 
fathomable mercy  of  God,  meeting  us  without  refer- 
ence to  conduct  but  simple  condition,  as  we  were  left 
wounded  and  dead  at  the  wayside,  like  the  poor  man 
who  had  gone  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  and  left 
half  dead  and  utterly  lost !  That  is  the  condition. 
Taking  Romans  ii.  and  Ephesians  i.-iii.  together,  we 
find  in  the  one  case  our  guilt  proved,  no  matter 
how  we  may  step  into  the  presence  of  God  with  our 
thoughts  of  our  own  goodness,  letting  us  know  what 
we  are ;  and  this  is  telling  us  what  we  were,  inde- 
pendently of  conduct  and  by  nature,  thoroughly 
contrary  to  God.  And  therefore  it  is  in  this  book 
that  we  get  God  brought  out.  Probably  there  is  no 
portion  of  Scripture  in  which  the  name  of  God  is 
more  constantly  used  than  Ephesians ;  it  is  distinct 
and  unique ;  more  of  God  than  of  Christ.  God  is  |  v^ 
seen  back  of  all,  when  He  is  seen  as  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  These  are  the  two 
titles  of  God — God  and  Father ;  God  in  regard  to  all 

6 


^ 

ir 

(j^ 


His  counsels,  and  Father  in  regard  to  the  full  expan- 
sion and  expression  of  His  heart. 

Can  we  read  such  a  book  ?  None  otherwise  than 
as  filled  with  the  Spirit,  with  no  mind  of  our  own, 
"We  have  received  not  the  spirit  which  is  of  the 
world  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God,"  that  we  might 
know  these  things.  Could  we  bear  this  infinite 
weight  of  love  that  He  tells  out  ?  None  otherwise 
than  by  being  strengthened  by  His  Spirit,  to  live  it 
out  in  our  lives. 

We  all  know  that  everything  tends  downward. 
'  Multitudes  of  men  that  are  children  of  God  by  faith 
\  in  Christ  Jesus  have  no  apprehension  at  all  of  the 
:  heavenly  calling.    They  scarcely  read  this  epistle, 
because  they  cannot  make  out  anything  of  these 
.  things.     How  many  that  have  read  all  this  are  living 
according  to  man  to  move  forward,  and  what  is  mov- 
ing forward  but  to  move  downward  all  the  more. 
So  we  need  to  be  lifted  up  and  out  of  our  thoughts 
into  God's  thoughts.     So  we  will  take  it  up  slowly 
and  carefully,  resting  upon  Him  to  open  it  to  us. 

Like  other  epistles,  it  begins  by  stating  the  author- 
ity by  which  it  is  written.  It  is  nothing  to  us  if  it  is 
of  Paul  simply ;  if  it  is  only  PauFs  meditations,  or 
Paul's  imagination,  or  Paul's  reasoning,  it  is  nothing 
at  all.  And  therefore  we  have  to  learn  how  he  got 
all  this.  What  right  has  he  to  say  it  to  us  ?  We 
learn  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Komans  that  he  was  sep- 
arated unto  the  good  news  of  God  concerning  His 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  made  of  the  seed  of 
David  and  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power, 
according  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead.  We  find  the  resurrection  is  the 
statement  of  power  to  us  all  the  time,  the  power 
which  we  are  to  apprehend  continually ;  and  in 
Ephesians  we  are  to  be  occupied  with  that.  That 
gospel  is  called  again  in  Second  Tim.  i.  8,  "  The  gos- 


pel  according  to  the  power  of  God."    This  gospel 
gets  very  wonderful  names.     It  is  called  in  First 
Tim.  the  *' gospel  of  the  happy  God."    The  calling 
is,  in  Philippians,  the  calling  on  high ;  in  Hebrews, 
the  heavenly  calling ;  and  here,  the  heavenly  call- 
ing.    The  gospel  is  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,"^ 
and  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  of  the  power  and  the 
v/isdom  of  God.     Thus  we  have  everything  in  this 
good  news.     The  wonderful  thing  is  that  we  are  the  ■' 
ones  that  have  it.     We  talk  about  His  passing  by  j 
angels,  but  He  passed  by  thousands  and  millions  of ;         . 
sinners  through  all  the  ages,  and  Israel,  as  far  as  1^«'^ 
these  things  are  concerned.      Prophets  and  priests  ]         J 
never  heard  such  a  word ;  and  if  we  are  content  toj    ^ 
act  as  prophets  and  priests  should  have  acted,  we  are  M(y»^ 
excessively  low  ;  if  we  are  content  to  be  the  Jew  that    \y^ 
Christendom  makes  of  itself  to-day,  we  are  excess- '  Tli*^ 
ively  low  in  all  conceptions  of  truth ;   if  we  will  J  "^^ 
insist  upon  putting  ourselves  under  the  law,  and  it* 
have  the  slightest  figment  of  ritualism,  or  make  any 
system  of  men,  we  are  excessively  low  in  all  concep-    , 
tions  of  God,  and  of  what  He  is  doing.     Man  is  a  y^^ 
failure,  and  God  has  demonstrated  it  all,  and  God 
comes  out  and  has  filled  everything;   then  calling 
our  attention  to  it,  that  we  might  know  what  is  the 
height  and  depth  and  breadth  and  length. 

Now,  if  .one  comes  to  us  to  state  these  things, 
where  did  he  get  them  ?  I  say  that  it  is  necessary  we 
should  know  where  he  got  them.  Paul  is  not  saying 
now  that  he  is  a  servant  but  an  apostle  of  Jesus 
Christ,  definitely  sent.  I  shall  listen  to  him,  because 
he  is  sent  with  a  special  message ;  it  is  full-orbed 
truth;  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ;  back  of  that, 
'^through  the  will  of  God." 

God  in  everything  that  He  has  done  has  had  to  do 
everything  about  it.  When  He  had  it  in  His  mind 
to  take  up  Israel,  He  said,  "  I  have  seen  the  affliction 


of  my  people/'  and  He  had  to  go  down  to  where  they 
were,  and  then  He  had  to  get  Moses  ready  with  many 
a  pleading,  and  then  to  have  Moses  go  into  Egypt 
and  plead  with  Israel  to  let  God  do  it ;  and  then  He 
had  to  go  to  the  enemy  that  held  them,  and  insist 
upon  it  that  he  should  let  them  go — by  all  the  smit- 
ings  of  the  nine  judgments,  and  preparing  them  for 
the  great  final  one — the  destruction  of  the  first-born 
and  destruction  of  Pharaoh's  hosts  in  the  sea.  God 
had  to  do  it  all  Himself,  and  so  He  had  to  do  it  all 
J  in  the  matter  of  our  salvation.  Where  then  is  this 
idea  that  we  do  our  part  and  He  does  His  part  ? 
Where  is  boasting  ?  It  is  excluded  by  this  simple 
law  of  grace.  There  is  no  deeper,  more  destructive 
he  that  goes  about  now  among  men  than  the  thought 
of  their  doing  for  salvation.  Ephesians  will  nail 
that  lie  eternally.  The  whole  of  this  gospel  is  by 
God's  own  mind,  and  His  own  hand,  and  then  He 
picks  out  His  apostle,  and  it  is  by  His  will  only. 
Paul  chose  no  such  place ;  he  chose  no  truth ;  he  had 
nothing  to  choose,  but  he  simply  is  sent,  and  God's 
will  is  behind  it  all. 

Ver.  1.     ''  Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the 
will  of  God,  to  the  saints  which  are  at  Ephesus,  and 
to  the  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus."    The  word  "  Ephe- 
sus "  does  not  make  much  difference.    It  is  left  out 
in  many  manuscripts.    It  would  seem  to  be  to  the 
Laodiceans,  from  what  we  read  in  Colossians.    The 
epistle  to  the  Ephesians  gives  us   the  church,  and 
what  it  is,  and  the  Head  also,  although  not  occupied 
with  the  Head.     It  gives  the  truth  concerning  the 
church.     Colossians  is  occupied  definitely  with  the 
^i  Head,  and  with  making  us  walk  worthy  of  the  Head. 
]  So  we  have  the  Head  in  Colossians  and  the  Body  in 
I  Ephesians,  the  two  forming  the  one  Man  of   the 
f  future,  the  One  that  is  to  reign  over  all  things— the 
/  Man  of  Psalm  viii :  "  Thou  hast  put  all  things  under 


His  feet;'*  the  Man  of  Heb.  ii.  where  it  says,  *'For 
not  unto  angels  did  He  subject  the  world  to  come, 
whereof  we  speak.  But  one  hath  somewhere  testi- 
fied, saying,  What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of 
him,  or  the  son  of  man  that  Thou  visitest  him? 
Thou  madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels ; 
Thou  crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honor,  and 
didst  set  him  over  the  work  of  Thy  hands ;  Thou 
didst  put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet." 
Then  the  whole  of  this  wonderful  Chap  ii.  of 
Hebrews  tells  us  four  different  reasons  why  He  be- 
came a  man,  and  that  it  was  necessary  He  should  I 
become  a  man  to  get  us  up  there. 

Now  we  see  all  these  things  mapped  out.    We  see 
it  first  by  the  character  of  the  epistle,  the  one  who 
writes  it,  and  then  the  fact  that  it  is  sent  out  broad- 
cast.    Some  have  supposed  that  it  is  a  circular  letter. , 
We  are  quite  sure  it  means  all  saints,  whether  it  is  ' 
addressed  to  a  certain  church  or  not.     It  may  have 
been  carried  by  Epaphroditus  and  Onesimus  from 
the  prison  at  Rome  ;  Epaphroditus  going  from  the 
prison,  and  carrying  it  with  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians ;  and  then 
given  as  they  went  to  these  various  assemblies  at 
Ephesus  and  Philippi  and  Colossae.     In  that  case, 
we  should  see  why  they  should  be  together,  and  why 
there  is  such  a  wonderful  agreement  among  all  three 
of  them ;  Ephesians  and  Colossi  ans  going  together  to  * 
form  the  church  with  its  Head,  and  Philippians  com- 
ing between  to  tell  all  the  wondrous  glad  living  with 
these  two  epistles  to  guide.      Philippians  is  not  a  • 
doctrinal  epistle  ;  it  is  simply  a  glad  walk  with  Christ 
in  the  glory  and  before  Him ;    reaching  out  and 
running  up  thitherward  ;   emptying  out  everything 
of  himself  in  the  second  chapter,  starting  out  on  the ' 
run  in  the  third,  and  in  the  fourth  knowing  the  peace.j 
of  God  and  the  God  of  peace,  and  the  Lord's  own 


f  peace  all  the  time.  That  is  consonant  with  these  two 
epistles  ;  the  three  go  together.    Then  that  sweet  little 

i  epistle  to  Philemon,  which  is  the  gushing  out  of  the 
heart,  and  the  practical  thing  of  how  to  treat  a  brother 
that  had  been  a  slave,  and  the  power  of  the  truth. 

"The  saints  which  are  at  Ephesus,  and  the  faith- 
ful in  Christ  Jesus."  That  is  the  standing— in  Christ 
Jesus.  It  is  not  under  Christ  Jesus,  as  we  have  in 
Matthew  ;  the  Kingdom,  in  which  He  is  over  and 
they  under,  and  looking  out  fit  subjects  for  that 
kingdom  ;  but  it  is  saints,  separated  definitely  for 
that  purpose,  to  be  with  Him  and  in  Him  as  to  their 
standing ;  as  in  First  John,  iv.,  we  are  as  He  is,  ex- 

/  actly ;  and  as  it  is  given  in  Hebrews  ii.,  "Forasmuch 
as  the  children  were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  He 
also  Himself,  in  like  manner,  partook  of  the  same 
that  He  that  sanctifieth  and  they  that  are  sanctified 
might  be  all  of  one."  We  were  sanctified  by  Adam 
into  infamy  and  crime  and  guilt.  We  were  just  like 
our  head,  Adam.  We  are  now  set  apart  by  another 
One.  For  sanctify  can  just  as  well  mean  set  apart 
to  bad  as  to  good,  for  the  word  simply  means  "  set 
apart."  We  were  one  nature  with  Adam,  and  are 
one  nature  here.  Now  we  are  of  the  same  material 
as  Christ  is,  "  Who  was  the  image  of  the  invisible 
God  and  the  first-born  of  an  entire  creation.''  So  we 
are  the  creation  and  He  is  the  Head  of  it ;  and  He  is 
the  first-born,  and  we  are  a  kind  of  first-fruits,  too. 
We  spring  up  from  the  grave  and  join  the  new  Man, 
and  are  linked  with  Him  eternally. 

"The  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus."  This  would  be 
those  that  are  simply  having  that  as  a  fact,  and  faith 
receiving  it ;  it  would  be  "full  of  faith." 

Ver.  2.  "  Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace,  from  God 
our  Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."    Grace, 

f  we  understand,  is  God's  distinctive  favor.  In  Romans, 
v.,  "By  whom  we  have  access  into  this  grace  wherein 

10 


we  stand."  Now,  as  having  access  into  that  special 
favor  from  God,  we  are  addressed  on  that  ground. 
"  Grace  to  you,"  and  from  Him,  according  to  His  full 
stature  ;  the  full  revelation  of  God  ;  "the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  There  is  nothing 
higher  that  can  be  told  of  Him.  Could  God  ever 
have  done  anything  higher  and  richer,  and  fuller  of 
meaning  ?  It  is  having  His  Son  made  of  woman  that 
He  might  bear  our  sins,  and  taking  Him  up  from  the 
grave.  Could  anything  be  higher  that  God  could 
do  than  what  He  does  with  Him  ?  And  by  that  act 
He  confers  upon  Himself  a  new  title  that  He  shall 
be  known  by  from  that  onward,  as  the  God  and 
Father  of  this  One  that  He  has  raised  up  from  the 
dead. 

And  then  Christ's  title :  it  is  as  here  in  the  flesh, 
then  raised  up  and  made  both  Lord  and  Christ,  an- 
swering every  demand  of  God  in  placing  Him  here, 
and  having  all  power  and  dominion  as  Lord  over 
everything  there,  He  speaks  as  Sovereign  and  Lord. . 
Doubtless  He  is  also  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament 
as  well,  before  He  gets  all  this  bestowed  upon  Him. 
He  took  the  lowest  death  possible ;  and  then  see  His 
coronation !  We  get  into  broad,  infinite  extremes 
when  we  come  to  talk  about  God  and  Christ.  The 
superlatives  here  are  plentiful.  He  goes  to  the  low- 
est depths — deserving  as  a  sinner,  because  He  took 
our  deserts— and  now  God  takes  Him  up  as  utterly 
satisfied  with  it,  and  then  crowns  Him  as  Lord  and 
Christ,  involving  the  sovereignty  of  the  universe 
itself  and  all  that  He  meant  as  the  God  of  Israel, 
as  well.  And  He  gave  Him,  as  having  to  do  with 
us,  a  new  title,  "the  Son  of  God,"  as  the  Seed  of 
David.  Israel  were  saints  ;  they  were  separated  in 
an  earthly  way,  but  we  are  saints  of  the  highest, 
heavenly.  "  Grace  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father,  ^ 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."    Our  God  and  Father, ' 

x% 


because  we  are  saints  of  God,  and  then  from  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  His  own,  members  of  ^is  body. 
Suppose,  before  we  get  through,  there  shall  be 
some  things  that  will  look  into  our  faces  and  rebuke 
sharply  ?  Can  we  fail  of  being  comforted,  as  well  as 
being  impressed,  by  such  a  word  as  this,  "  Grace  and 
peace  from  our  Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"? 

The  character  of  this  epistle  is  so  rich,  it  has  to  be 
put  in  the  richest  way,  and  begins  by  an  ascription 
of  praise.  It  discloses  the  wealth  and  glory  and  joy 
of  God  in  words  and  phrases  whose  simplicity  is  sub- 
lime. We  do  well  to  mark  how  the  epistle  starts. 
Take  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  "  God,  having  of 
old  time  spoken  unto  the  fathers  in  the  prophets  by 
divers  portions  and  by  divers  manners,  hath  at  the 
end  of  these  days  spoken  unto  us  in  His  Son,  whom 
He  appointed  Heir  of  all  things,  through  whom  also 
He  made  the  worlds. "  There  we  have  the  entire  range 
of  all  that  He  has  to  speak  to  us.  Then  we  are  oc- 
cupied with  the  Son  all  the  way  through  that  book 
of  Hebrews.  Here  we  are  occupied  with  our  bless- 
ing, and  hence  it  begins  by  ascribing  to  Him  the 
praise.  ' '  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  That  takes  in  Christ  as  man  down 
here,  and  God  not  ashamed  to  be  called  His  God. 
Then  He  raises  Him  up  from  the  dead  and  declares 
Him  His  Son.  He  was  the  Son  while  He  was  down 
here,  and  the  only  begotten  ;  but  for  the  work  that 
He  did  He  gets  the  title  of  the  Son  of  God.  God  is 
His  Father.  Men  may  say  of  Jesus  what  they  will 
—and  they  have  done  so— but  God  treats  Him  ac- 
cording to  all  that  He  has  done.  And  we  shall  find, 
too,  that  it  tells  out  God's  heart  in  regard  to  the 

j-Y^^I  matter  of  salvation,  that  He  thus  gives  Jesus  the 
w      f  title  of  the  Son  of  God  because  He  laid  down  His  life 

'^       for  sinners.    Then  He  Himself  takes  the  title  of  the 


God  and  Father  of  this  One  that  did  it  all.    And  thus  I 
God  has  gained  His  title  of  the  ''  God  and  Father  of  { 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  which  would  never  have  been 
known  had  not  Christ  died ;  and  that  death  would 
never  have  been  accomplished  had  not  man  been  a  > 
sinner.    So  man's  sin  has  brought  out  Christ  and 
God,  and  filled  the  entire  universe  of  bliss  with  its 
richest   thoughts.     And  the   God  and  Father  has 
blessed  us,  according  to  the  stature  to  which  He  has 
risen  in  this  book.     Go  back  to  creation,  in  Gen.  i., 
and  see  that  when  God  had  created  everything,  He 
called  it  all  good.    He  is  the  Creator  of  that  wondrous 
heaven  and  of  the  earth,  and  He  calls  it  all  good ; 
and  He  is  the  Creator  of  man  and  beast  and  every- 
thing, and  it  is  all  good.    But  there  He  has  no  title  J 
of  "  God  and  Father  "    He  has  no  title  of  ''  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  because  there  is 
no  Lord  Jesus  Christ  revealed.    Doubtless  He  is  God  1 
in  the  full-orbed  character  of  the  Father  and  the  Son 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  at  that  very  time.     Because  He  I 
says,  "  Let  us  make  man."    He  never  says,  "  Let  us  I 
make  grass,  sun,  earth,  etc.,"  but  when  it  came  to! 
man.  He  says,  "Let  us  make  man."    But  there  is  no 
blessing  and  glory  ascribed  to  Him  as  blessing  man  in 
earthly  places.     But  when  He  has  come  out  to  the 
final  ground,  and  given  the  finishing  stroke  to  all 
that  He  has  created,  that  which  is  spoken  of  as  His 
poem  in  Chap.  ii. ;  and  tells  us  all  that  which  pertains 
to  it,  the  depths  of  His  wisdom  and  the  riches  of  His 
grace  and  the  working  of  His  mighty  power,  when 
all  these  things  in  God  are  discussed  in  this  book, 
then  He  takes  titles  in  accordance  with  it.    And  in 
accordance  with  all  that  thought  He  has  blessed  us. 
Have  we,  in  faith,  reached  up  to  that  ?    How  we 
have  to  stretch  ourselves  to  do  that !    How  impos- 
sible to  do  it,  except  by  what  we  find  in  Chap.  iii. 
"  Strengthened  with  might  by  His  Spirit  in  the  inner 

18 


;  man."  It  is  simply  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  us, 
by  which  we  know  and  receive  and  act  in  these 

.  wonders  of  the  heavens.     But  then,  you  see,  He 

^  wants  us  to  take  it  all.  Such  language  as  He  gives 
here  would  have  been  impossible  to  name  among 
angels  ;  impossible  to  have  tried  to  tell  it  to  the  high- 
est that  he  ever  had  on  earth ;  to  the  Noahs,  to  the 
Abrahams,  to  the  Davids,  to  the  Daniels— the  wisest 
aud  most  gifted  and  richest  in  His  thoughts.  They 
simply  would  have  stood  amazed  at  this,  just  as  Solo- 
mon would  have  stood  amazed  at  any  one  saying  to 
him,  when  he  had  called  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
that  temple,  if  one  had  announced  these  few  words, 
*'  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  every  spiritual 
blessing  in  the  Heavenlies  in  Christ."  Do  you  not 
see  how  such  a  man  would  have  been  totally  misun- 
derstood ?  Shall  you  and  I  go  and  put  ourselves 
back  on  that  level  ?    We  have  lost  Christian  stand- 

I  ing  if  we  do.  All  the  present  truth  is  gone  and  denied 
when  we  put  ourselves  on  that  ground.  We  cannot 
stand  with  Solomon.  Our  feet  must  be  infinitely 
above  his  head,  because  we  stand  in  heavenly  places. 
When  it  is  announced  to  us  that  we  are  blessed  with 
all  spiritual  blessings  in  the  heavenlies,  we  forsake 
all  that  is  earthly  and  the  earth  itself.  It  is  this  that 
gives  force  and  character  to  the  word,  *'  You  are  not 
of  the  world,  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world." 
And  that  is  because  of  the  cross  that  has  separated 
us  forever  by  death  from  all  that  we  were.  We  are 
crucified  to  the  world,  and  the  world  crucified  to  us. 
We  are  risen  !  And  therefore  that  He  has  blessed  us 
with  all  spiritual  blessings  is  the  announcement  for 
us.  It  is  *'  according  as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world." 
■^^-J  In  Prov.  viii.  18-31,  Wisdom  is  speaking,  and  First 
•^"    j  Cor,  u  30  lets  us  know  who  this  Wisdom  was,    "But 


of  him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  is  made  unto  { 
us  wisdom  from  God,  even  righteousness  and  sane-  ? 
tification  and  redemption."    And  Christ  is  the  one. 

**  Riches  and  honor  was  with  Him." "  Yea,  than 

fine   gold." "My  revenue  than   choice   silver." 

Fine  gold  is  that  which  passed  through  the  fire  to 
become  refined,  the  fire  of  judgment.  The  fineness 
of  gold  always  has  reference  to  the  gold  tried  with 
fire,  and  all  its  dross  taken  out  of  it,  and  it  is  just  a 
picture  of  Christ's  death  and  the  cross.  This  then  is 
better.  If  we  were  redeemed  to  earthly  places,  it 
would  be  like  the  beginning  of  the  Acts.  Israel 
brought  on  the  earthly  ground,  which  was  proposed 
to  them  in  Acts  iii.  That  would  be  fine  gold ;  but 
better  than  gold  gets  us  clear  up.  **  I  lead  in  the  way 
of  righteousness  ;  in  the  midst  of  the  paths  of  judg- 
ment." The  way  of  righteousness  is  right  through] 
the  heart  of  Romans.  The  way  of  judgment  is  right 
through  the  whole  matter  of  the  cross.  Romans  is  j 
always  the  expression  of  the  way  of  righteousness ) 
of  God  in  dealing  with  us.  It  brings  us  out  with-  { 
out  condemnation,  and  His  whole  heart  for  us,  and  \ 
Himself  for  us.  "  That  I  may  cause  those  that  love  me  i 
to  inherit  substance  :  and  I  will  fill  their  treasures." 
I  am  sure  he  has  filled  us  perfectly  in  these  things. 
"  Jehovah  possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  His  way, 
before  His  works  of  old.  I  was  set  up  for  everlast- 
ing, from  the  beginning  or  ever  the  earth  was.  When 
there  were  no  depths  I  was  brought  forth;  when 
there  were  no  fountains  abounding  with  water. 
Before  the  mountains  were  settled,  before  the  hills 
was  I  brought  forth  :  While  as  yet  He  had  not  made 
the  earth,  nor  the  fields,  nor  the  highest  part  of  the 
dust  of  the  world.  When  He  prepared  the  heavens, 
I  was  there  :  when  He  set  a  compass  upon  the  face  of 
depth ;  when  He  established  the  clouds  above ;  when 
He  strengthened  the  fountains  of  the  deep ;  when 


He  gave  to  the  sea  His  decree  that  the  waters  should 
not  pass  his  commandment ;  when  He  appointed  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  ;  then  I  was  with  Him,  as 
one  brought  up  with  Him;  and  I  was  daily  His 
delight,  rejoicing  always  before  Him."  It  is  the 
thought  of  God  commanding  the  light  to  shine  on 
the  fourth  day,  and  the  third  day  the  earth  to  show 
itself,  and  the  second  day  the  firmament  to  be 
between  the  waters  above  and  below,  on  the  first 
day  commanding  simply  light,  and  then  all  brought 
out  so  the  whole  thing  is  disclosed.  Think  of  His 
going  on  day  by  day,  given  in  Genesis  i.,  and  that 
He — Wisdom — was  there  daily.  Every  day,  as  He 
called  out  these.  He  was  His  delight.  Think  of  all 
that  had  preceded  in  the  thoughts  of  God  in  regard 
to  this ;  think  of  what  it  says  in  Psalm  xlv. :  "  In  the 
y,,A*l^*vwh[plume'pf  the  book,"  etc.  Think  that  when  it  came 
^  ^own  to  the  sacrifices  and  offerings  of  Israel,  that 
He  could  say,  "These  are  simply  the  symbols  of  the 
day,  and  by  and  by  I  am  to  come,  delighting  to  do 
.  His  will."  Oh,  it  is  delightful  to  go  back  into  God's 
thoughts  I  It  belongs  to  us,  simply  because  we  are 
in  Christ,  We  get  our  title  to-day  in  the  fact  that 
we  are  sons  of  God.  It  is  not  yet  manifested,  but 
we  are  awaiting  manifestation.  Every  one  will 
have  his  perfect  place ;  its  complete  end.  It  has 
made  us  to  have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
because  we  are  as  He  is.  The  heart  must  get  a  great 
deal  of  comfort  in  reading  this  verse  :  *'Then  I  was 
by  Him,  as  one  brought  up  with  Him ;  and  I  was 
daily  His  delight,  rejoicing  always  before  Him." 
Everything  was  to  be  brought  out  for  Him,  to  mag- 
aify  and  manifest  Him.  Then  His  own  special 
delight  was  in  the  habitable  part  of  the  earth,  as  it 
was  thus  brought  out,  and  the  land  brought  out ;  and 
.^  was  near  when  on  the  third  day  He  said,  "Let  the 
,  waters  recede  and  the  earth  come  forth."    It  was 


the  day  that  marked  the  resurrection — the  third  daj,,  ^  • 
just  as  the  spiritual  earth  comes  forth  from  all  the  j 
darkness  and  death  through  the  death  and  resurrec-  I  y^^' 
tion  of  Christ.  And  so  it  says,  ^*  Rejoicing  in  the 
habitable  parts  of  the  earth."  It  does  not  say,  '*  Re- 
joicing in  the  sea."  Habitable  is  the  very  part  that 
IS  looked  upon  in  so  many  places  in  the  Scripture. 
It  is  the  word  used  for  the  physical  world.  The 
other  word  used  for  world  is  simply  "age."  This 
was  where  Christ  was  to  be  crucified,  and  where  His 
feet  would  touch,  and  He  rejoiced  in  the  habitable 
parts  of  the  earth.  **My  delights  were  with  the  sons 
of  men."  In  John  xi.  there  are  two  things  :  dying 
for  the  nation  Israel,  and  then  to  gather  together  all 
the  children  of  God  that  were  scattered  abroad.  God 
is  going  to  have  there  an  earthly  people,  and  it  is  His 
delight.  In  the  one  He  rejoices, — in  the  other  He 
has  His  specific  delight.  We  have  the  two  things 
there.  It  is  what  pertains  to  us ;  that  God  was  pro- 
posing in  the  ages  to  have  us,  and  Christ  was  rejoic- 
ing in  it  all,  and  His  heart  leaping  forward  in  fellow- 
ship to  us. 

Yer.  4.    "According  as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him, 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should 
be  holy"  (that  means  separated  unto  Him)    "and 
without  blame  before  Him  in  love."    That  has  to  do 
with   conduct   in  accordance  with  the  separation. 
We  are  separated  unto  God ;  then  because  we  are 
separated  unto  God  we  must  be  like  Him,  blameless,  , 
without  blemish.     Then  we  have  that  which  charac- ;! 
terizes  the  whole  matter  so  richly — "In  love ! "   You  / 
know  the  two  things  that  are  revealed  concerning  j 
God ;  that  He  is  Light — that  involves  our  separation  / 
and  blamelessness ;  and  "God  is  love"— that  involves 
the  thought  that  we  are  separated  in  love.   We  have   fjy^ 
two  titles  of  God  all  the  way  through  Ephesians.     ,  jj 
He  is  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,, 4^ 

IT 


> 


We  shall  have,  during  the  whole  of  Chap.  i.  and 
Chap.  ii.  too,  Him  as  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  It  will  be  His  counsels."  Out  of  the  mind  oi 
God  these  things  come.  Then  in  Chap.  iii.  we  shall 
hare  come  in  deeper  still  into  all  God's  heart,  and 
find  Him  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
so  we  find  one  of  the  most  singular  things  in  Script- 
ure. There  are  only  two  phrases  in  Scripture  that 
seem  left  unfinished.     One  is  the  word  of  man  and 

'i  the  other  of  the  Holy  Spirit  telling  us  about  God. 
One  is  in  Ex.  xxxii.  32:  ''If  Thou  wilt  forgive  ! '* 
He  had  never  heard  the  word  forgive  in  his  life, 
and  therefore  it  was,  "  If  Thou  wilt  forgive." 
Then  God  came  out  with  a  new  revelation  of  Him- 
self, in  which  forgiveness  was  a  very  prominent 
word  ;  an  entirely  new  revelation,  because  God  had 
not  taken  Israel  out  of  Egypt  on  the  ground  of  for- 
giving anything  at  all.     He  said,  "I  have  seen  the 

'  affliction  of  my  people And  I  am  come  down  to 

deliver  them."  He  gave  His  full  name  of  Jehovah, 
which  contained  those  seven  things  that  He  would 
do  for  them  (Ex.  vi.  6-8),  and  after  He  had  given 
the  law,  they  broke  the  law  by  bowing  down  to  the 
golden  calf.     Then  it  was  all  over.     Now  it  is  for- 

,  giveness  or  death.     And  Moses,  actually  led  by  God 

Himself,  says,  ''If  Thou  wilt  forgive,"  and  he  could 

.  get  no  further.     God  responded  to  that  by  passing 

'before  him  and  proclaiming  His  name  anew ;  not 
simply  Jehovah,  but  Jehovah,  merciful  and  gracious. 
The  other  place  where  the  thing  is  left  with  a  blank 
is  in  Chap.  iii.  of  this  book.  It  is,  ''That  we  might 
know  what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  depth  and 

'  height,"  it  does  not  say  of  what.  It  is  left  indefinite. 
It  is  infinite.  Now,  it  is  according  to  this  that  we  are 
to  be  trained.  We  are  to  go  to  school  to  this  infinite 
love.  We  are  to  go  to  school  under  the  two  titles  of 
Qod  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  depth 


of  His  purposes,  and  the  infinite  range  and  scope  of 
all  that  He  will  disclose,  and  then  His  fathomless 
heart !  Ourselves  to  explore  more  and  more ;  and 
to  be  the  expansion  of  what  God  is,  in  our  position. 
What  an  invitation  it  is  to  us  to  leave  what  man 
calls  joy  down  here,  and  be  occupied  with  Him ! 
What  testimony  we  have  in  regard  to  this.  The 
testimony  began  the  moment  we  were  saved.  We 
know  our  place  in  God  and  in  Christ.  How  this  cor- 
responds with  Hebrews  i.  God  is  now  speaking  in 
the  Son,  Now  we  are  to  know  what  the  Son  is  and 
what  is  involved  in  this  knowledge.  The  possibility 
of  all  these  blessings  is  the  scope  of  our  life.  In 
Him,  in  contrast  with  under  Him. 

Ver.  5.  *'  Having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adop- 
tion of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  Himself,  according 
to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will."  I  use  the  word 
**  son-place  "  instead  of  adoption,  because  that  is  pre- 
cisely what  the  word  means.  Adoption  means  son- 
placing,  but  it  tells  you  how  you  got  there.  It  is 
very  nice  to  be  adopted,  but  I  can  every  moment  as 
an  adopted  child  look  into  the  face  of  my  father  and 
say,  "  I  am  not  your  own  son."  But  I  cannot  look  into 
the  face  of  God  and  say  that.  I  was  a  son  of  Adam 
as  born  of  the  human  race,  but  I  have  been  taken 
out  of  the  race  of  Adam  into  His  family ;  slain  there 
— thank  God ! — crucified ;  slain  as  a  felon — an  object 
of  shame  and  guilt  and  ruin  before  God — put  to 
death.  It  is  not  adoption ;  it  is  son-placing.  I  am 
born  in  His  house  and  in  His  arms.  A  born  son  ! 
(John  i.  12,  13.)  Witness  :— "  As  many  as  received 
Him,  to  them  He  gave  the  privilege  of  being  sons  of 
God :  who  are  born  not  of  the  flesh  but  of  God." 
Sometimes  adopted  children  are  let  go  after  a  while, 
but  a  born  son  never  gets  out  of  the  blood,  and  out 
of  the  life.  He  may  act  badly,  but  he  is  a  son.  So 
you  see  the  word  adoption  is  hardly  sweet  enough 

19 


) 


when  we  have  such  precious  things  here.    We  are 
predestinated  to  the  son-place.     Predestination  and 

!  foreordination  are  the  same  word,  of  course.  You 
will  find  that  it  is  not,  foreordained  to  be  saved.     It 

^  is  not  naming  you  by  name  to  be  saved.     That  is  a 

j  poor  idea  of  predestination.  God  has  saved  people 
without  that.  He  did  it  in  the  Old  Testament  times. 
The  millions  that  will  be  brought  to  God  and  believe 
in  Him,  and  be  His  people  actually,  and  never  go 
out,  in  the  millennial  times,  will  be  just  as  clearly 
His  own  as  we  are ;  and  yet  concerning  these,  and 
concerning  those  in  the  Old  Testament  times,  there 
is  not  a  word  said  about  being  predestinated.  These 
were  not  predestinated  to  any  condition,  yet  they  are 
^  !&aved  just  as  much  as  we  are.  Predestination  has 
^  not  to  do  with  salvation.  With  what  has  it  to  do 
J^  then  ?  It  has  to  do  with  the  people  that  belong  in 
J  this  specific  time  when  Christ  is  raised  up  in  heaven 
and  declared  to  be  the  Son.  And  that  continues 
until  the  time  He  comes  down.  During  the  whole  of 
the  present  period  God  has  His  Son  up  there,  and 
He  is  making  sons,  and  this  is  just  the  period  of 
sons.  He  is  speaking  to  sons  now  in  His  Son. 
He  is  talking  son  language  and  of  son  conduct,  and 
son  reflections  of  Himself  in  the  heart.  "Behold 
what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon 
us  that  we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God.  And 
we  are.  For  this  cause  the  world  knoweth  us  not 
because  it  knew  Him  not."  Now  that  is  predestina- 
tion. It  is  what  the  predestination  of  Scripture  looks 
at.     "For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 

I  these  are  sons  of  God."  The  Old  Testament  saints 
were  not  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  To  be  Christ's 
is  to  have  the  Holy  Spirit  in  us ;  every  believer  has 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  him.  Then  these  are  sons.  Pre- 
destination is  to  position  as  saved,  not  salvation 

{itself.    "Whom  he  foreknew  he  predestinated  to  be 

20 


conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son."    You  cannol 
find  a  thing  about  the  believer  in  the  Scripture  tc 
which  the  word  predestination  attaches,  that  does 
not  involve  the  place  of  the  believer ;  not  the  salva-  < 
tion,  but  the  style  of  it. 

Man  rejected  Christ  down  here,  and  sent  Him 
away;  now  while  God  has  Him  up  there,  He 
says,  **Sit  Thou  on  my  right  hand  until  I  make 
Thine  enemies  Thy  footstool."  Until  is  a  little  word, 
but  it  covers  the  entire  eighteen  hundred  years  in 
which  He  is  making  sons,  having  predestinated  us  to 
the  son-place. 

Ver.  6.    *'  According  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His 
will."    What  a  vivid  contrast  that  whole  matter  is  to  \ 
what  is  called  Christianity,  and  to  what  is  called 
Christian  preaching  and  teaching  and  praying  and 
worship  to-day.     This  is  the  way  God  is  acting  now. . 
We  know  that  there  was  a  time  that  lasted  fifteen  hun- 
dred dreary  years,  in  which  God  held  back  from  act- 
ing according  to  His  will,  excepting  on  rare  occasions. 
The  people  were  under  the  law,  wrong  all  the  time 
and  failing  utterly  of  His  kindness — because  the  laW^ 
says,  I  will  do  thus  and  so,  if  you  do  thus  ;  and  cursed! 
is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  that ) 
are  written  in  the  book  of  law.     God  retreated  and 
waited  while  man  was  doing.     The  sad  thing  is  that' 
we  have  that  mingled  with  a  great  deal  of  teaching 
of  to-day,  and  we  were  born  in  the  midst  of  it.     It  is  \ 
as  though  God  would  put  a  limit — "If  you  do  so,"  etc.  ^ 
Now,  this  is  not  true.     It  is  a  denial  of  the  truth  that ; 
God  has  given.     He  is  acting  now  independently  of 
man  in  any  way  whatever.    Everything  of  Christ  has 
put  man  out  of  the  way.     He  has  been  put  to  death 
as  a  felon,  and  now  God  can  go  right  on  and  act. 
Never  before  in  the  history  of  man  on  the  earth  had 
God  the  distinctive  opportunity  and  place  to  act ;  but 
now,  since  Christ  is  raised  from  the  dead,  there  is  a 

21 


/ 


iiew  creation.  We  have  a  figure  of  this  in  Gen.  i. 
'*  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth.  And  the  earth  was  without  form  and 
void."  Not  that  it  was  created  so,  it  became  so, 
an  utter  ruin,  doubtless  brought  on  by  judgment. 
'  Well,  what  then  ?  He  must  come  into  the  scene, 
and  so  He  does,  and  the  first  thing  is  that  the  Spirit 
moves  upon  the  face  of  the  waters,  and  the  word 
of  God  comes  forth.  The  Spirit  and  the  Word, 
just  as  much  as  the  Spirit  and  the  Word  to-day  are 
acting.  How  simple  it  is,  and  what  a  wonderful 
creation  it  is  in  the  end,  and  how  He  pronounces  it 
all  good  !  Man  does  not  have  to  provide  a  thing  ;  it 
is  free — all  open  to  his  hand.  The  earth  produces, 
and  he  eats  from  what  it  produces.  Now  it  is  so  in 
this  new  creation.  It  is  a  scene  of  entire  ruin,  and 
when  man  can  consent  to  let  God  reach  all  altitudes 
and  breadths  and  lengths,  and  do  all  things  accord- 
ing to  His  good  pleasure, — that  is  the  salvation  of 
God  in  this  day.  I  suppose  the  trouble  is  that  men 
are  not  made  to  know  that  they  are  utterly  lost. 
Romans  starts  upon  the  principle  of  ungodliness  in 
the  natur  3  and  unrighteousness  in  conduct,  and  says, 
^*The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven  against 
it  all."  There  is  no  use  of  man  saying,  "I  will  try 
to  do  better."  **  There  is  none  good  ;  no,  not  one." 
Then  in  Chap.  iii.  "  Now  the  righteousness  of  God 
is  manifested,  being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the 
prophets."  So  we  see  that  God  was  writing  it  down 
that  He  could  act  according  to  His  grace,  and  in 
righteousness  do  it ;  have  a  righteous  way  in  which 
he  could  save,  after  all.  Then  here  in  Ephesians,  we 
start  with  man  utterly  dead,  and  it  is  Christ  dead, 
too.  God  comes  into  the  scene  in  which  man  is  dead 
and  Christ  dead.  You  will  find  in  this  chapter  that 
Christ  is  dead  and  taken  up  out  of  the  grave.  You 
will  find  in  Chap.  ii.  that  you  were  dead,  and  He  has 


taken  you  up  too.     That  is  according  to  the  good?  ^j^^Jr^ 
pleasure  of  His  will.    Now  He  makes  man  partakei !     ^^ 
of  His  highest  things,  because  it  is  according  to  His!  ''''jy 
will.     There  is  nothing  contingent  upon  our  conduci;  i^*-^ 
in  it ;  not  even  after  we  are  saved.    I  may  falter  and/ 
limp,  and  make  the  poorest  kind  of  a  walk,  but  I  ami 
a  saved  man  !    I  am  not  talking  about  other  things,—^! 
the  enjoyment  of  it,  or  the  question  of  rewards,  but  oi 
the  simple  matter  of  salvation  itself.     I  am  not  going^ 
to  encourage  anybody  to  walk  in  a  limping,  halting^  / 
way,  far  be  it !    The  higher  truth  you  give  to  men,j  ^ 
the  more  you  bring  them  out  of  the  limping.     Where^, 
the  truth  is  applied,  it  takes  a  man  clearly  out  of  the 
world,  instead  of  leaving  him  here  to  work  his  way 
as  best  he  can.     He  is  dead  to  the  world,  and  the 
world  is  dead  to  him  by  the  crucifixion  of  Christ. 
Now,  lifted  out  of  it,  he  learns  how  to  live  by  being 
occupied  with  Him  who  is  the  head  and  glory  of  that 
very  place. 

Here  then,  is  what  God  is  doing  according  to  His 
own  will.     Do  you  not  know  that  the  hardest  thing  i 
you  ever  found  in  the  world  was  to  let  God  have  a  I 
will  ?    I  remember  a  dear  brother  telling  me  that  ^ 
he  read  a  portion  in  Chap.  ix.  of  Romans  when  he 
was  a  young  man,  in  regard  to,  "  What  of  God,  will- 
ing to  show  wrath,  and  to  make  His  power  known," 
etc.  and  he  said,  "  I  won't  have  anything  to  do  with 
that !  "—as  if  that  could  stop  God.     But  God  was 
very  gracious  to  him,  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour 
he  very  humbly  went  and  picked  up  the  Bible  he  had 
thrown  off  from  him,  glad  that  God  had  a  will,  and 
that  that  will  took  him  up  as  a  lost  sinner  and  saved        .    ^ 

him.  "T?v.K^ 

Now  it  is  simply  of  His  good  pleasure.  Satan  has  ' '  ^^ 
nothing  but  bad  pleasure  in**his  will.  Christ  came  ^ 
and  said,  '' My  peace  I  give  unto  you;  not  as  the  |,,(**^^'' 
world  giveth  give  I  unto  you."     The  world  must 

23 


always  have  an  equivalent.  It  is  the  good  pleasure 
of  BQis  will  to  take  us  up  for  nothing.  ""^ 
y  Then  the  object  of  it :  ''To  the  praise  of  the  glory 
of  His  grace  ! "  It  is  to  exploit  His  grace,  to  bring  out 
the  full  character  of  it.  Did  God  have  an  opportu- 
nity to  show  all  that  He  was  when  He  made  angels  ? 
When  He  made  Adam  ?  When  He  restored  the  earth 
and  in  IToah  started  afresh  ?  He  was  bound,  and 
could  not  show  Himself,  and  nothing  but  bringing 
man  to  death  would  give  Him  an  opportunity  of 
showing  just  how  much  love  there  was  in  Him. 
\  Grace  is  love  in  the  light ;  it  is  love  according  to 
;  righteousness  ;  grace  reigning  through  righteous- 
'  ness ;  love  showing  itself  with  righteousness  to- 
.  ward  the  lost  guilty  one.  Then  it  is  to  the  praise 
of  the  glory  of  His  grace.  Are  we  not  lifted  into 
a  wondrous  place  then,  when  we  are  to  be  there 
to  be  just  the  effulgence  of  His  grace,  to  show  out 
all  the  riches  of  His  grace  ?  In  Romans  we  have 
our  place  to  show  the  righteousness  of  God.  In 
Ephesians  we  are  placed,  if  possible,  higher,  to  show 
out  the  exceeding  richness  of  His  grace  through  all  the 
ages.  That  would  make  us  not  try  to  present  a  good 
character  to  men,  or  to  care  for  reputation,  but  to 
let  it  be  understood  that  we  were  the  vilest  of  all,  the 
guilty  man  of  Romans  iii.,  the  lost  man  of  Ephes.  ii., 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  walking  according  to 
this  world  ;  led  of  the  devil,  his  dupes  all  the  time. 
This  is  the  boast  we  make.  God  has  so  presented 
the  matter  that  we  hasten  to  take  the  place  of 
guilty  sinners  and  lost  men.  I  am  not  to  turn 
around  upon  God  and  say,  I  am  not  a  son  now — I 
was  picked  up  as  a  worthless  thing, — lower  than  any- 
thing on  earth — the  lost  sinner  is, — and  then  placed 
in  the  highest,  just  that  He  might  show  what  He  is, 
j  — not  what  I  am.  His  righteousness  when  you  come 
'  to  talk  about  guilt,  and  His  grace  when  you  talk 


about  condition  of  tuin  ;  all  being  to  the  praise  of ) 
the  glory  of  His  grace  ! 

Hence  we  are  held  up  as  the  very  brightest  jewels  | 
through  the  millennial  age  and  through  the  eternal  I 
age. 

One  other  clause  in  Ver.  6— the  old  version  says, 
"Made  us  accepted."  The  new  version  says,  ** Which 
He  freely  bestowed  on  us."  It  is  that  grace  which 
He  freely  bestowed  on  us  in  the  Beloved.  The 
thought  is  that  he  has  taken  us  into  favor  in  the 
Beloved. 

We  see  two  reasons  for  what  has  come  to  us  ;  first, 
the  will  of  God  to  show  out  Himself ;  and  second, 
the  Beloved,  in  whom  He  has  placed  us.  These  are 
two  grand  pillars  to  bear  this  structure  up.  So  we 
have  this  second  reason,  that  He  has  taken  us  into 
favor  in  the  Beloved.  This  He  has  to  give, — that  is 
what  we  are.  In  First  John  we  have  several  things  i 
connected  with  our  position.  We  are  told  that  we 
are  in  the  place  where  we  are  to  have  His  joy  and 
full  fellowship  with  Him.  In  Chap.  ii.  that  our 
sinning  need  not  hinder  ;  if  we  confess  our  sins  they 
are  put  away.  In  Chap.  iii.  that  we  are  sons  of  God ; 
and  in  Chap.  iv.  that  we  are  just  like  Christ.  In!^  J>> 
Chap.  V.  that  He  has  given  us  eternal  life,  and  this  | 
life  is  in  His  Son.  We  have  the  son-life,  and  He  has  • 
written  it  that  we  might  know  we  have  eternal  life, 
and  then  know  all  these  rich  things  in  the  varied 
chapters.  **  Taken  into  favor  in  the  Beloved  "  then, 
is  the  reality.  We  never  need  have  a  question  as  to  ^ 
how  much  He  loves  us ;  He  loves  us  as  much  as  He 
loves  His  Son.  Christ  said,  "That  the  world  might 
know  that  Thou  hast  loved  them  as  Thou  hast  loved 
me  ! "  What  an  immense  word  that  little  word  of 
two  letters,  "as,"  is.  We  are  as  He  is ;  we  are  hated 
by  the  world  as  He  was  ^^ated.  These  are  the  things 
that  are  given  us  by  Christ's  own  statement  apart 

2fi 


kV- 


from  us,  as  we  listen  while  He  is  talking  to  the 
Father;  telling  what  we  are  to  God,  and  that  He  has 
done  it.  (John  xvii.)  To  be  as  in  Romans  righteous 
before  God,  and  in  Ephesians  risen  and  seated  in 
heavenly  places  to  be  quickened  together  with 
Christ ;  not  apart,  but  with ;  to  be  seated  in  heaven- 
ly places  in  Him,  and  being  satisfied  with  Him :  to 
be  in  Colossians  complete  in  Him :  to  be  in  Thessa- 
lonians  just  waiting  for  Him,  and  counting  on  His 
coming  to  take  us  worthily  up  to  our  place.  "  Ac- 
cepted in  the  Beloved,"  then,  is  a  very  sweet  thought. 

We  are  getting  the  germinal  principles  in  these 
early  verses.    We  go  on  now. 

Ver.  7.  "In  whom  we  have  redemption  through 
His  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the 
riches  of  His  grace."  That  comes  down  to  the 
method  in  which  it  is  done  practically.  After  all 
that  has  been  said,  one  might  say.  That  is  all  very 
beautiful,  but  how  am  I  to  get  it  ?  And  so  we  pause 
at  the  end  of  Ver.  6  with  just  such  a  thought,  How 
did  you  got  it  ?  Now  He  says  in  Ver.  7,  "In  whom 
we  have  redemption  through  His  blood,  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins,"  and  then  He  gives  the  standard  of  that, 
"  according  to  the  riches  of  His  grace."  That  is  a  par- 
ticularly clean  forgiveness,  is  it  not  ?  Two  things  : 
— Redemption  connected  with  our  being  bought, 
completely,  out  of  the  whole  thing  we  were  in.  If  I 
was  bought  as  a  slave,  I  belong  to  the  man  that 
bought  me.  Now  if  he  has  redeemed  me,  that  is  it. 
Then  if  I  am  bought  by  that  man,  he  puts  a  new 
suit  of  clothes  on  me  to  have  me  fit  for  him.  So  God 
makes  His  own  redemption,  and  this  is  the  standard  : 
"According  to  the  riches  of  His  grace,"  so  Ver.  7 
tells  us  the  simplest  thing, — the  first  word  of  the 
gospel, — that  we  learn  in  believing  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;  we  get  a  life.  That  is  the  link  for  all 
the  blessings  in  this  chapter.    It  is  that  we  believe 


26 


on  Christ  and  get  redemption  and  forgiveness  of  sins. 
It  is  the  lowest  thing  that  is  in  Ephes.  in  regard  to 
what  God  has  done  ;  but  do  you  know  that  it  is  the 
highest  thing  of  most  Christians  of  to-day  ?  I  heard 
a  venerable  minister  say,  ''My  great  business  is  tof 
get  my  soul  converted,  and  to  get  safe  to  heaven."! 
Every  word  was  false.  Not  that  that  man  meant  to: 
to  lie,  but  Satan  did.  Now  then,  that  is  God's  busi-j 
ness.  You  call  on  any  Christian  to-day,  and  if  he  is 
in  a  sweet  frame  of  soul  and  has  had  some  experi- 
ences, what  will  you  get  ?  "I  am  glad  to  say  that 
I  am  forgiven."  That  is  only  the  beginning, — the 
first  little  word  of  the  whole  thing.  The  little  child- 
ren in  First  John  know  their  Father  ;  they  have  got 
as  far  as  that.  Every  believer  has  eternal  life,  and  ] 
the  same  life  that  Christ  has  ;  he  has^is  sins  for- 
given him  ;  that  is  the  simplest  thing  of  all ;  that  is 
Romans, — though  Romans  goes  further  than  that. 
Ephes.  proposes  to  give  us  infinitely  more  than  those, 
in  that  He  tells  us  we  have  it.  All  the  sweet  things 
we  get  in  First  John  come  back  to  this  : — ''These 
things  have  I  written  unto  you  that  believe  on  the 
name  of  the  Son  of  God,  that  ye  may  know  that  ye 
have  eternal  life ; "  and  you  have  that  for  the  starting 
point ;  and  this  truth  in  Ver.  7  is  the  starting  point 
for  you.  It  is  the  door  by  which  you  enter  ipto  all 
this  infinite  matter  that  Ver.  3  begins  with.  "He 
has  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ."  So  we  proceed  to  the  next  thing. 
Notice  the  order  here  :  He  tells  us  first  the  large 
things  that  He  has  done,  because  it  begins  with  the 
perfection  of  Him  who  has  done  it.  Now  we  are 
linked  with  Him  there.  Look  at  the  measure  of  that, 
— "  According  to  the  riches  of  His  grace."  We  need 
not  lie  awake  nights  and  wonder  if  we  are  forgiven. 
A  person  once  said,  "  I  pray  every  day  for  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,"  and  I  said,   "How  do  you  get 

?7 


along?  Are  they  all  forgiven?"  ''Well,  I  think 
they  are."  It  takes  a  good  while  to  find  out  how 
rich  the  riches  of  His  grace  is.  What  He  does  is 
always  in  accordance  with  Himself,  and  not  accord- 
ing to  the  mind  of  men.  The  next  verse  begins  an 
entirely  different  thing.  Keep  that  same  grace 
before  you. 

Ver.  8.  "Wherein  He  hath  abounded  toward  us 
in  all  wisdom  and  prudence."  He  has  abounded 
unto  us,  and  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  Prudence  is 
the  word  used  there.  Refer  to  Prov.  viii.  Speaking 
of  Wisdom,  Ver.  12  says,  ''I,  Wisdom,  dwell  with 
prudence  and  find  out  knowledge  of  witty  inven- 
tions." The  witty  inventions  just  means  discovering 
the  highest  thoughts  of  God's  own  mind ;  the  finest 
characteristics  of  the  mind  now  found  out, — all 
those  things  that  God  has  written  out  for  all  the 
"  future,  and  all  the  things  of  the  past,  and  all  that 
^  Christ  is  in  the  present ;  and  we  have  the  entire 
scope  of  wisdom  from  God  ;  and  Christ  is  that  Wis- 
dom, and  now  He  has  been  shown  unto  us  in  all 
these  things.  Probably  the  word  prudence  is  best 
rendered  by  intelligence  j  that  would  be  'the  thought 
that  we  could  best  apprehend.  Therefore,  it  would 
be,  "  He  hath  abounded  unto  us  in  all  intelligence 
and  all  wisdom ; "  all  His  wisdom  and  intelligence 
in  regard  to  His  mind.  In  Rev.  iv.  we  find  a  com- 
pany of  people  on  twenty-four  thrones  around  the 
great  central  throne.  The  thing  that  distinguishes 
I  these  twenty-four  elders  is  their  consummate  wis- 
dom and  knowledge.  They  seem  to  be  placed  up 
there  to  tell  all  about  everything  that  is  going  on  ; 
perfectly  at  home  amidst  all  that  is  going  on  ;  they 
bow  before  the  throne  of  God  and  ascribe  praise  to 
Him  in  regard  to  all  creation,  and  tell  the  reason 
1  why  ;  they  bow  before  Christ,  telling  the  reason  of 
Uheir  worship ;  and  when  John  does  not  know  wbo 


can  open  those  seals,  they  tell  him  it  is  the  Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah.     They  tell  who  they  are  who  are     ^  ^  ,^ 
arrayed  in  white  robes  (Chap,  vii.),  gathered  out  of  t  *^^    * 
every  nation  with  reference  to  the  millennial  glory,    ^^v--* 
and  selected  by  God  that  they  shall  be  there  ;  they        v^l** 
tell,  in  Chap,  xi.,  as  they  all  together  bow  before  ^''^^ 
Him,  all  that  is  to  come  to  pass  clear  down  to  the^' 
end.     Now,  there  is  nobody  in  the  scope  of  all  Script- 
ure that  would  correspond  to  them  but  the  people  in 
these  vv.  8,  9  and  10.    It  is  a  mystery  to  everybody 
else  but  the  church.     It  was  one  of  the  things  that 
Isaiah  referred  to  when  he  said,  "From  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world  eye  hath  not  seen,"  etc.    Then 
Paul  comes  in  and  says,  "  But  God  hath  revealed 
them  unto  us."    And  we  have  in  First  John  ii.  20  : 
"  But  ye  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  and  ye 
know  all  things."    Nobody  can  teach  us  if  we  get  it 
from  Him.     Then  in  First  Cor.  viii.  1 :  *'  We  have  all 
knowledge;"  and  in  First  Cor.  ii.  6:   **  We  speak 
wisdom  among  them  that  are  perfect."    That  is  per- 
fection.    Thus  we  have  it  carried  out  in  so  many  , 
places  of  the  Scripture  that  we  are  peculiarly  blessed  I    ^^yO 
in  knowing  ;  and  as  if  to  make  it  all  the  stronger,  in  . 

the  last  epistles  First  John  closes  up  by  repeating,    ^j^g^ 
"We  know,  we  know!"    Not  one  of  these  things    ^^^ 
could  be  known  by  the  human  mind,  or  by  instruc- 
tion, or  by  observation,  or  by  reasoning. 

We  have  been  blessed  with  all  spiritual  blessings 
in  heavenly  places  ;  and  in  the  same  grace  that  did 
all  this.  He  has  abounded  unto  us  in  all  wisdom  and 
intelligence.  Having  made  us  ready  to  receive,  then 
He  makes  known — what  ? 

Ver.  9.  "  Having  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery 
of  His  will,  according  to  His  good  pleasure,  which 
He  hath  purposed  in  Himself."  It  is  what  He  had 
in  His  own  mind,  in  Christ.  We  may  go  back  to 
wh^t  we  were  speaking  of  before,  into  the  coun- 


sels  of  God  before  the  ages,  as  set  forth  in  Prov.  viii. 
and  in  the  Psalms  and  in  Hebrews  i.  We  may  go 
back  into  what  is  referred  to  when  Christ  says,  *'I 

came  not  to  do  mine  own  will, 1  have  finished 

the  work  which  Thou  gavest  me  to  do."  We  may  go 
back  and  see  the  plan  of  the  ages  and  the  mind  of 
God,  which  is  according  to  righteousness  and  holi- 
ness and  truth,  and  then  say,  The  door  is  opened 
through  redemption  into  all  that !  There  is  not  a 
door  closed  now.  We  are  competent  to  take  up  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which  opens  heaven.  Indeed, 
we  are  solicited,  as  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling, 
to  do  that  very  thing.  Could  He  talk  that  way  to 
Noah  or  Abraham  ?  They  could  have  nothing  lower 
than  this  if  they  were  placed  in  the  heavens  as  we 
are.     Heaven  is  open  all  the  time.     How  vivid  the 

\  contrast  to  the  wretched,  low,  mean  Christianity  of 
^  j  the  present  day  !    Get  out  of  it  as  fast  as  you  can. 

^  The  latter  part  of  Yer.  9  is  that  which  gives  the 
character,  elevation  and  depth  of  it.  ''Which  He 
hath  purposed  in  Himself."  It  is  leading  us  back  to 
God  before  there  was  anything  created  and  the  desire 
and  purpose  of  God  to  have  company;  that  He  would 
have  some  to  enter  into  His  joy ;  to  be  in  fellowship 

(with  His  things  and  His  thoughts.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  overwhelming  and  touching  thoughts  in  regard 
to  God,  that  He  sought  our  company.  That  He  came 
down  to  us  as  lost  sinners,  in  the  lowest  place  pos- 
sible, to  take  us  up  into  the  highest  place  possible,  to 
•'^be  His  companions  through  eternity,  passing  angels, 
^  ,,  and  passing  various  dispensations  until  He  came  at 
^  *last  to  the  lowest  and  the  farthest  off  !  He  came  to 
such,  appealing  for  their  society,  to  take  in  all  His 
delights.  Of  course  He  had  to  make  us  altogether 
new  in  order  to  do  this.  This  is  wliat  "after  the 
counsel  of  His  own  will"  means, — that  which  He 
purposed  in  Himself.     Contrast  this  with  the  theo- 


V 


logical  way  of  telling  things,— that  God  did  just  for 
His  own  glory,  this,  that,  and  the  other ;  true,  but 
cold.     But  come  to  the  Scripture,  and  we  find  that 
the  heart  warms  all  the  time  toward  the  amazing 
love  that  came  to  bring  us  unto  Him,  and  that  He 
might  have  His  delight  in  us;  and  as  we  have  learned 
that  it  was  the  delight  that  He  had  in  His  own  Son 
that  He  shares  with  us.     So  He  has  made  known  to 
us  the  things  hidden  from  others.     That  is  what  the 
word  '* mystery"  means;  a  thing  hidden,  and  now 
revealed,  a  secret.     We  can  no  longer  talk  about 
mysteries  except  as  something  now  revealed  to  us. 
God's  thought  is,  there  is  a  mystery  which  in  the 
former  ages  was  never  revealed  at  all.     Now  He 
brings  it  out  as  clear  and  wide  as  the  heavens.    God  > 
is  not  satisfied  to  put  us  into  the  place ;  He  must 
give  us  the  intelligence  of  that  place,  and  the  knowl-  \ 
edge  of  that  place,  so  as  to  form  the  walk  of  that 
place,  and  the  life  of  that  place.     This  is  His  will. 
One  has  to  think  of  God,  then,  as  having  shut  up 
within  His  own  mind   all  these  rich  thoughts  in 
counsel  with  His  Son — Himself  wisdom — and  then; 
seeking  to  have  somebody  to  talk  to.     Then  we  can^ 
go  back  and  see  Him  making  Adam,  but  directly 
Adam  fell,  and  there  was  no  fellowship  ;  then,  see- 
ing what   Adam's   descendants  were  down  to  the 
Flood,— beginning  again  with  Noah,  but  Noah  failed 
utterly;  then  coming  and  taking  up  Abraham  after 
all  had  sunk  into  idolatry ;  then  revealing  Himself 
to  him  in  a  very  large  way,  indeed,  giving  some  of 
the  largest  thoughts,  one  may  say,  because  He  was 
the  Almighty  God  and  the  Everlasting  God,  and 
then  taking  a  name  connected  with  Abraham — "I 
am  the  God  of  Abraham  !" — thus  coupling  His  name 
with  him.     But  we  never  find  anything  of  sons;  we' 
never  find  anything  of  heavenly  places;  we  never 
find  anything  of  making  known  to  them  the  mystery 


of  His  will.  He  was  still  keeping  back  those  richer 
things.  Then  taking  up  Israel— a  people  in  bondage 
and  a  people  that  knew  very  little  of  Him, — He 
made  known  to  them  His  acts,  and  to  their  leader 
His  ways,  but  they  were  ways  on  earth  and  connected 
only  with  the  earth.  But  He  was  with  them  then, 
and  will  be  with  them  again  when  they  shall  be 
blessed  indeed,  and  the  curse  removed.  But  all 
this  was  nothing  compared  with  what  He  had  in  His 
mind  to  reveal  to  sons,  when  He  has  raised  up  His 
Son  into  the  heavens,  and  made  Him  the  pattern 
according  to  His  first  thought.  Now  He  reveals 
everything.  "  The  son  abides  in  the  house  forever" 
but  the  servant  abides  at  his  master's  will  and  not  to 
know  the  master's  purposes.  But  the  son  is  heir  to 
all  the  things  of  the  father. 

This,  then,  is  the  way  of  it.  God  is  telling  us  out 
things  that  were  kept  secret.  And  He  has  done  it 
all  according  to  His  will.  He  has  not  called  us  in, 
proposing  to  make  us  partners,  and  said,  How  much 
will  you  do  if  I  will  tell  you  this  ?  but  He  has  told 
it  out  perfectly  without  consulting  us.  He  has  done 
this  for  Himself  and  according  to  Himself,  putting 
us  where  we  are  and  making  us  competent  to  receive, 
and  our  only  contribution  is  our  utter  emptiness  and 
ruin.     (Gen.  i.  2,  3.) 

What  is  this  purpose  that  He  has  told  out  ?  Ver. 
10.  "That  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fullness  of 
times  He  might  gather  together  in  one  all  things  in 
Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  on 
earth,  even  in  Him."  Here  are  times  going  on  from 
the  time  of  Adam  to  Noah,  and  from  Noah  to  Abra- 
ham, and  from  Abraham  to  Israel,  and  from  Israel, 
all  through  its  varied  history  under  priests  and 
kings  and  prophets,  down  to  the  Christ.  Now  these 
are  varied  times  but  there  comes  out  a  new  people,  and 
Pe  p9int§  to  the  fulness  of  the  tm^^s,  the  copsum- 


mation  of  all  times,  and  He  makes  known  to  us  that 
in  that  dispensation  He  is  going  to  head  up  in  this 
Son  whom  He  has  raised  up  from  the  dead  all  things 
in  heaven  and  earth. 

Ver.  11.     **  In  whom  also  we  have  obtained  ^n  in- 
heritance, being  predestinated  according  to  the  pur- 
pose of  Him  who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel 
of  His  own  will."    We  are  his  own  heritage.     Is 
not  this  wonderful  ?  And  we  have  also  this  thought, 
— the  amazing  difference  between  our  position  and 
these  others  that  Christ  will  head  up.     He  will  head 
up  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  by  Him  in  whom 
we  are  already.     We  belong  especially  to  Him.     Wej  Jr*^ i 
share  all  His  fortunes  through  the  glory.     We  arel  ^f^%/^ 
part  and  parcel  with  Him.     We  get  it  directly  as :       jv" 
members  of  His  body  ;  where  He  moves  through  the  iv*; 
bright  universe  of  bliss  we  move  with  Him,  because    lit/* 
we  are  His  body.   His  prayer  for  us  (John  xvii.)  was,      ^  ^ 
"I  will  that  they  be  with  me  w;here  I  am."    We   |&*^ 
must  be  there,  with  Him  in  heading  up  and  ruling 
overall  things, — "being  predestinated  for  this  very 
purpose,  according  to  the  purpose  of  Him  who  work- 
eth all  things  after  the  counsel  of  His  own  will."    I 
need  not  enlarge  upon  that. 

Ver.  12.     "  That  we  should  be  to  the  praise  of  His 
glory,  who  first  trusted  in  Christ."    We  are  the  first;  J ,.  *-' 
trusters  in  Christ.     We  have  first  to  do  with  Him  as  *    •  ■y^ 
coming  up  from  the  dead,  the  first  ones  that  see  1     ^"^ ., 
Christ  and  the  first  that  are  linked  with  Him.    Wej  i^  '^.^L 
are  first  in  His  heart  as  the  main  object  that  He    ^^^ 
comes  after,  leaving  all,  and  so  we  become  the  dear-  ^^^f^ 
est  object  on  the  earth  to  Him.     So  it  is  that  Christ 
had  us  as  the  one  object,  and  securing  us  to  take  in 
all  these  things  in  common  with  Himself,  and  all 
these  things  in  fellowship  with  the  Father.     All  the 
deep  counsels  of  God  are  ours.    He  has  made  known 
^9  VLS  this^  ^u4  sa^^  that  these  are  distinctly ^Ijr  Xq  th^ 


praise  of  His  glory.  We,  who  thus  trusted  or  hoped. 
Forehoped  is  the  word  that  would  express  it.  So, 
while  we  have  come  in  late,  after  Adam  and  his 
times,  and  Noah,  and  Abraham,  and  Israel,  and  all 
that,  and  come  down  here  when  all  is  put  to  death 
in  the  cross,  the  end  of  the  ages  is  come,  and  He 
starts  a  new  creation,  composed  of  first-born  ones. 
We,  then,  linked  with  Him,  are  just  the  ones  that  are 
held  up  as  the  jewel  sparkling  in  the  heavens.  That 
is  our  place — the  expression  of  His  own  glory.  Does 
not  this  take  us  out  of  all  this  common  idea  of 
Christianity  ?  We  shall  learn  in  Chap.  iii.  that  this 
is  Paul's  gospel ;  and  you  can  search  through  the 
Scripture  until  you  get  to  Paul,  and  you  will  not  find 
a  syllable  like  it ;  and  I  am  afraid  you  might  light 
a  thousand  electric  lamps  and  search  through  this 
city,  and  everywhere  else,  and  find  in  all  that  is 
preached  and  written,  except  as  the  Lord  has  struck 
for  Himself  a  ligfet,  very  little  of  it  preached.  And 
yet  it  is  the  one  gospel  that  God  is  giving  out  in 
this  day.  It  is  the  one  gospel  that  men  are  not  giv- 
ing out.  Men  are  paying  their  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  to  get  anything  else  but  Paul's  gospel. 
Now  we  have  a  thought  added  in  Ver.  13.  "In 
whom  ye  also,  after  that  ye  heard  the  word  of  truth, 
the  gospel  of  your  salvation :  in  whom  also,  after 
that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  promise."  Leave  out  the  word  **  trusted."  He  is 
marking  those  that  were  the  first  trusters.  "  After 
you  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  sal- 
vation, in  whom  also  you  were  sealed  with  that  Holy 
Spirit  of  promise."  Christ  promised  the  Holy  Spirit 
only  to  those  who  succeeded  His  day.  The  Old 
Testament  saints  had  no  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in 
them  at  all ;  the  millennial  saints  will  not  have  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  we  have.  Here,  then,  are  a  people 
definitely  taken  up,  having  a  specific  standing  va, 


Christ,  and  a  specific  hope  of  being  caught  up  to  be 
with  Him,  and  of  reigning  with  Him.     Israel  before 
were  servants  ;  Israel,  and  the  Gentiles  that  are  to 
come,  will  be  subjects  under  Christ  in  contrast  with 
us.    We  then  have  all  this,  and  it  is  to  fasten  it,  and 
to  fasten  us  in  Him,  linking  us  with  Him  as  the 
members  of  His  body,  we  are  sealed  in  Him.     The  ; 
millennial  saints  are  all  of  Israel  that  are  saved  with  j^" 
the  Gentiles  that  no  man  can  number.     Rev.  vii.  tells  \k^ 
of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  and  then  a  multitude  | 
of  Gentiles  that  no  man  can  number.     They  will  j  ^ji 
fill  the  millennial  years,  and  they  will  all  be  subjects    ' 
of  the  King.     We  will  be  reigning  with  the  King. 
They  will  not  have  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  them ;  x    ^ 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to  us  because  we  belong    v.l 
where  we  are  not ;  we  belong  in  heaven,  but  we  are 
walking  down  here.     Now  to  keep  us  in  our  place 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  ;  and  that  is  what  is  meant 
by  the  '*  earnest ; "  He  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheri- 
tance ;  but  Israel  of  old  belonged  to  the  Land,  and 
they  did  not  need  the  Holy  Spirit,  because  God  was 
literally  there  and  dwelling  with  them.     But  we,  j 
dwelling  here  but  belongings  up  there,  to  make  that  j 
the  place  of  our  heart,  imust  have  the  Holy  Spirit.  > 
But  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  only  an  earnest,  but  we 
are  bound  to  Christ  as  members  of  His  body  by  one 
Spirit— by  the  Holy  Spirit.     The  Holy  Spirit  dwell- 
ing in  us  is  a  matter  of  testimony  from  God ;  He , 
says,  "  You  are  sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit."    Sealing! 
is  setting  apart ;  but  it  is  more  than  that  here  ;  it  is  i 
being  fastened  to  Him.     You  might  be  taken  apart 
— every  member  of  your  body You  get  an  exam- 
ple of    that  in  Ezekiel  xxxvi. :    "  A  heap  of  dry 
bones."    Now  one  might  be  just  that ;  then   you 
might  say.  There  is  a  body  :  these  are  the  component 
parts  of  a  man.     But  it  would  not  be  a  body  joined 
to  the  head.     But  we  might  have  them  all  joined  to 

35 


iM 


A*-[; 


the  head,  and  just  go  slumping  along  like  an  idiot, 
not  knowing  where  to  put  our  feet  and  hands.  "What 
is  the  matter  with  him  ?  He  has  not  the  spirit  of  a 
human  being.  Put  the  spirit  of  a  man  in  him,  and 
every  muscle  comes  into  place,  and  he  uses  them 
aright ;  these  members  are  baptized  by  one  human 
spirit  into  one  body  ;  it  had  its  effect  of  making  the 
man  a  unit.  So  the  one  Holy  Spirit  has  brought 
every  memler  into  his  place,  and  all  to  the  Head. 

I  So  that  we  are  sealed  in  Him.  The  Spirit  sets  us 
apart  for  the  future  ;  that  is  the  purpose  of  sealing. 
We  are  marked  off  for  Him,— members  of  His  body, 

*  and  we  are  to  be  manifested  as  such,  and  to  be  mani- 
fested as  one  at  the  coming  of  Christ,  but  the  Holy 

'  Spirit  makes  us  know  it  now  as  a  fact,  because  He 
is  the  earnest  of  that  inheritance,  keeping  us  true  to 
that,  and  making  it  true  to  us  until  we  get  there. 

Ver.  14.  "Who  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance 
until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession, 
unto  the  praise  of  His  glory."  We  are  to  inherit 
everything  with  Christ,  and  to  reign  with  Him  ;  so 
we  just  hold  it  as  a  fact.  What  does  that  do  with  a 
man  ?  It  makes  him  say,  I  have  nothing  to  do  with 
things  here ;  all  my  politics  are  in  heaven  ;  I  am  not 
going  to  mingle  this  wretched  earth  with  heaven  ;  I 
am  not  going  to  take  up  Satan's  place  with  the  Lord 
Jesus'  place ;  I  cannot  be  of  Christ  and  the  devil ;  I 
cannot  be  associated  there  and  with  the  unbeliever 
here  ;  I  am  definitely  and  practically  told  not  to  do 
it.  **  What  fellowship  hath  light  with  darkness  ? 
And  what  concord  hath  Christ  with  Belial  ?  Or  what 
part  hath  he  that  believeth  with  an  unbeliever  ?  "  I 
am  told  it  positively  and  in  plain  terms  ;  but  in  spite 
of  it,  hundreds  and  thousands  are  being  told  over  and 
^^f  over  again  that  they  must  go  into  politics  and  fix  it 

'  up ;  a  false  statement  all  the  way  through.  Behind 
it  all  is  the  giant  liar,  Satan.    Now,  the  reason  that 

86 


we  cannot  have  to  do  with  these  things  is  the  fact 
that  we  are  His  people. 

The  possession  has  been  purchased  ;  it  will  be  re- 
deemed when  the  Lord  comes.  He  sold  all  that  He 
had  for  the  earth,  for  us,  for  the  world,  and  He  is 
going  to  have  it  all  His  own  world  in  time.  Now, 
until  that  we  are  sealed— joined  to  Christ— the  Holy- 
Spirit  keeping  it  fresh  in  our  hearts,  and  the  reality- 
will  be  known  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord  ;  until  that 
time  this  is  what  the  sealing  is. 

That  is  the  first  section  of  this  chapter,  and  of  the 
book.  What  have  we  had  ?  An  expression  of  praise 
that  we  are  raised  and  seated  in  heavenly  places  in 
Christ  by  the  will  of  God,  who  purposed  that  we 
should  be  holy,  and  without  blame  before  Him  in 
love.  Having  preordained  us  to  the  position  of  sons 
unto  Himself  by  Jesus  Christ, — the  same  character 
of  sonship  ;  and  then  in  whom  He  has  taken  us  into 
favor  in  the  Beloved  ;  He  will  let  us  know  our  place 
as  in  the  Beloved,  just  as  He  is,  and  then  in  Him  we 
have  forgiveness  of  sins  and  redemption,  who  has 
abounded  unto  us  in  all  wisdom  and  intelligence, 
having  made  known  all  His  secrets,  telling  us  all 
about  Christ.  He  has  brought  us  into  His  presence 
and  seated  us  around  His  feet,  just  to  tell  us  about 
the  Wonderful  One  that  has  been  in  His  thoughts 
from  eternity.  His  own  Son !  What  a  wonderful 
thing  it  is  to  be  a  child  of  God  in  this  age  !  It  is  not 
to  plod  and  work  and  worry  along  to  try  to  get  saved 
at  last,  and  do  our  best,  and  somehow  to  bring  some- 
thing to  God  by  which  His  love  can  be  purchased 
and  our  salvation  secured,  but  to  enter  into  what 
Christ  is  now  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  The  moment 
we  believe,  we  are  there  ! 

Now,  if  we  have  well  looked  into  this  in  the  few 
words  we  have  had, — because,  you  kuow  this  is  in- 
exhaustable,— we  will  turn  to  the  next  section,  and 


begin  with  Ver.  15  :  "  Wherefore  I  also,  after  I  heard 
of  your  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  love  unto  all  the 

saints "    There  are  three  things  that  constitute 

Christian  life  and  character.  There  are  three  objects 
before  us.  There  is  faith,  having  to  do  with  the  per- 
fect work  of  Christ  ;  there  is  hope — having  to  do  with 
all  that  is  to  come,  Christ  coming  to  take  us  and  we 
reigning  with  Him  ;  there  is  love,  having  to  do  with 
the  intermediate,  and  by  the  favor  of  God.  Faith, 
love  and  hope  ;  each  of  these  has  range  for  action. 
Hence,  in  First  Thess.  it  says,  *^  Remembering  with- 
out ceasing  your  work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love  and 
patience  of  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  before 
our  God  and  Father."  There  were  the  three  things 
all  in  action.  In  Ephes.  he  calls  attention  to  two  of 
them,  but  the  other  is  not  named.  We  are  right  in 
the  midst  of  that  which  the  hope  takes  hold  of.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  making  it  a  reality  to  us,  and  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  taking  in  all  that  He  has  done, 
and  love  going  out  toward  all  saints.  It  is  brought, 
of  course,  as  the  thing  right  before  us  ;  we  are  spoken 
of  as  being  in  the  midst  of  it,  the  Holy  Spirit  making 
it  a  present  condition.  But  is  it  not  very  sweet  to 
find  **  love  unto  all  the  saints  ?"  He  then  proceeds 
^to  tell  us  what  the  saints  are.  We  understand  that 
the  saints  are  ourselves  and  all  of  God's  children  in 
ithis  age,  and  they  are  such  by  virtue  of  their  being 
saved.  Every  believer  is  a  son,  separated  unto  God. 
feThe  word  "  saint "  has  been  lost,  and  those  who  have 
[^^jJ^recovered  it  and  talk  about  it  are  made  fun  of.  That 
^'  we  should  call  each  other  saints  is  a  jest  with  some  ; 
)  i  but  it  is  a  proper  title.  In  proportion  as  the  world 
has  become  worldly,  it  has  lost  the  title  of  separate 
people,  for  that  is  what  *^  saint"  means, — simply  cut 
off  to  Him  ;  that  is  what  ' '  holy  "  means  too,  separ- 
ate. "  When  I  heard  of  your  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
and  love  unto  all  saints."    How  sweet  that  is  I 

88 


x>' 


In  the  next  verse  we  find,  that  having  learned  all 
these  tilings,  he  ceased  not  to  give  thanks  for  them, 
making  mention  of  them  in  his  prayers.     What  was  > 
there  to  pray  for  ?    He  did  not  have  to  pray  that 
they  might  be  raised  and  seated  in  heavenly  places, 
and  for  love  one  to  another,  and  that  they  might  be 
saints,  but,  on  the  ground  of  all  that,  he  was  praying 
for  something  else,  and  we  will  see  that  this  prayer) 
proceeds  upon  the  facts  of  God,  these  things  that  are ! 
true  of  them. 

Ver.  17.  ''  That  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Father  of  glory,  may  give  unto  you  the  spirit  of 
wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  Him." 
Now  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  takes  us  right 
out  into  all  His  counsels  and  thoughts  and  the 
deepest  purposes  of  God.  Here  we  have  Him  as 
the  One  to  whom  the  prayer  is  made ;  He  having 
purposed  all  these  things  in  Christ,  the  prayer  would 
be  that  we  might  get  hold  of  all  these  purposes.  He 
is  also  the  Father  of  glory.  The  glory  will  be  the 
manifestation  of  a  great  deal  more  than  has  ever 
been  brought  out ;  the  glory  will  reveal  Christ  as  the 
Head  of  the  church,  and  the  Head  over  all  things ; 
all  things  reconciled  unto  God,  and  in  the  end  the 
new  heavens  and  the  new  earth, — all  under  Christ 
and  through  Him.  And  then  we  have  God  brought 
out  as  the  Father  of  glory,  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  well  as  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  the  full  revelation  of  heart  as  well  as  mind. 
Though  God  is  Light,  He  is  also  Love,  and  He  must 
have  a  full  expansion  and  revelation  of  His  heart 
and  His  love.  So  we  have  the  Father  of  the  glory, 
and  that  glory  will  be  the  expression  of  God's  love. 
You  see  how  widely  He  can  shine  then,  because  He 
is  righteous,  and  has  put  down  everything  that  is 
evil,  and  then  God  has  free  rein  just  to  be  all  that  He 
is  in  the  fullness  of  His  heart.     This  is  why  He  is 

39 


iV 


called  the  Father  of  glory.  It  takes  us  into  the  past, 
— the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  it  takes  us 
into  the  future— the  glory  that  is  to  come.  And  now  in 
accordance  with  that  the  prayer  is  :  "  That  He  may 
give  unto  you  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in 
the  knowledge  of  Him."  He  has  imparted  to  us  all 
wisdom  ;  then  what  we  need  is  the  Spirit  to  take  in  the 
revelation  and  to  receive  the  wisdom.  And  for  this 
**  the  eyes  of  your  heart  being  enlightened."  You  see 
this  grasps  the  same  thought  we  had  in  regard  to  God 
as  the  Father  of  glory.  The  heart  must  take  that  in  ; 
and  so  it  is  the  eyes  of  the  heart,  rather  than  the  un- 
derstanding, being  enlightened.  What  must  we 
have,  then,  unfolded  to  us,  and  what  must  be  the 
character  of  the  Christ  of  which  we  are  a  part,  that 
requires  the  spirit  of  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  the  eyes  of  our  heart  to  be  enlightened  ?  It 
cannot  be  simply  information  such  as  gratifies  curi- 
osity ;  it  cannot  be  simply  a  history  of  His  doings, 
or  His  purposes  or  results,  it  must  be  that  which  un- 
folds His  nature  and  declares  all  the  riches  of  His 
grace  as  toward  us  in  Christ  Jesus.  God  gives  us 
nothing  for  mere  intellectual  enjoyment ;  I  am  sure 
all  that  He  gives  is  beyond  intellect ;  a  human 
mind  could  not  begin  to  take  in  these  things  ;  be- 
cause they  are  God's  own  heart.  Himself.  It  is  a 
marvelous  thing  that  we  are  the  ones  to  take  up 
■  all  this.  Now  it  is  that  we  may  know  these  three 
things :  First,  what  is  the  hope  of  His  calling ; 
His  calling,  we  learn  in  Philippians,  is  on  high, 
and  we  learn  in  First  Tim.  that  it  is  a  holy  calling 
also ;  we  learn  that  it  is  according  to  His  purposes 
and  His  mind,  to  the  praise  of  His  glory ;  what  He 
purposed  in  Himself.  Now  connected  with  that  is 
the  hope.  "  What  is  the  hope  of  His  calling,"  then, 
involves  what  we  have  been  saved  for.  Your  chil- 
dren are  not  born  just  for  the  sake  of  being  born, 

40 


but  they  are  born  for  the  sake  of  being  human  be- 
ings, and  to  take  up  human  things.  They  are  to 
grow  and  develop,  and  then  consummate  in  their 
lives  your  hopes.  What  is  the  hope  of  the  calling  of 
that  little  infant  ?  You  can  understand  that ;  and 
now  understand  it  in  regard  to  ourselves.  What  isi 
the  hope  of  His  calling  ?  He  calls  us  into  the  full  1 
range  of  His  love.  It  underlies  every  epistle  Paul 
wrote  ;  it  is  the  one  thing  on  account  of  which  He 
stirs  them  up  in  Oalatians  because  they  are  sinking 
down  to  the  Jewish  standard  by  putting  themselves 
under  the  law  j  it  is  that  to  which  He  calls  them  in 
1  Cor.,  when  the  tendency  is  to  get  into  worldly 
matters,  and  to  discuss  them,  and  to  use  gifts  rather 
as  adornments,  if  not  playthings.  It  is  the  thing 
in  2  Cor.  to  get  them  away  from  all  associations 
here,  political,  social,  and  everything  else  ;  every- 
thing of  this  world ;  and,  therefore,  to  be  not  un- 
equally yoked  with  these  things.  It  is  this  that  we 
have  in  Colossians,  placing  it  right  before  us ;  He 
keeps  that  before  them  all  the  time.  *'  There  is  the 
land  for  which  you  were  brought  out  of  the  world ; 
now  keep  that  before  you." 

Then  what  is  the  hope  ?  **  We  are  to  be  strength- 
ened with  all  might  according  to  the  power  of  the 
glory,  to  all  patience,  with  long-suffering  and  joy- 
fulness."  The  present  scene,  instead  of  being  one 
in  which  I  am  made  very  happy  in  circumstances, 
in  which  the  church  spreads  itself  and  becomes  the 
mistress  of  everything  that  is  going  on,  is  really  the 
time  and  place  of  rejection,  and  the  hope,  under 
these  circumstances,  is  to  keep  up  the  heart  with 
God's  patience  and  joy  fulness.  It  is  that  which 
inspired  the  Apostle's  own  heart  in  2  Tim.,  when 
he  had  to  tell  of  persecutions  everywhere.  And 
now  he  says,  "There  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  righteousness."    Indeed,  there  is  no  proper  way 

41 


of  getting  hold  of  the  gospel  that  Paul  gives,  with- 
}  out  getting  the  definite  hope  of  that  gospel.  Of 
j  course,  it  is  not  hoping  to  be  saved,  because  we 
j  start  with  that.  ''Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us 
with  all  spiritual  blessing  in  heavenly  places  in 
Christ."  We  are  told  then,  "in  whom  we  have 
redemption  and  forgiveness  of  sins."  The  hope  has 
nothing  to  do  with  being  saved  ;  it  is  what  you  are 
saved  for.  I  might  go  on  and  show  that  this  is 
the  expression  of  every  epistle.  1  John  takes  it  up 
in  this  way:  "Behold  what  manner  of  love  the 
Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us  that  we  should  be 
called  the  children  of  God,  and  we  are."  "  Therefore 
the  world  knows  us  not."  That  settles  the  whole 
thing  at  once ;  our  calling  has  at  once  made  an 
enemy  of  the  world ;  the  world  knoweth  us  not  be- 
cause it  knew  Him  not.  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the 
children  of  God,  and  it  is  not  yet  made  manifesfrTibhat 
we  shall  be.  We  know  that  if  He  shall  be  mani- 
fested, we  shall  be  like  Him ;  for  we  shall  see  Him 
even  as  He  is.  And  every  one  that  hath  this  hope  on 
Him  purifieth  himself  even  as  He  is  pure." 
i  So  that  the  hope  is  very  definite ;  it  is  being  with 
the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  highest  glory,  instead  of  tak- 
ing up  anything  down  here  where  Satan  reigns, 
over  the  earth,  with  all  things  under  His  feet,  and 
bowing  to  the  enemy  of  Jesus.  Cannot  we  let  honors 
alone  until  we  get  there  ?  Cannot  we  let  our  ambi- 
tion take  hold  of  that,  and  have  none  for  things  here  ? 
The  next  thing  that  is  prayed  for  is  that  we  may 
know  "the  riches  of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints." 
It  is  not  exactly  that  the  saints  are  His  riches,  but 
rather  He  has  the  riches  with  them  ;  the  riches  will 
be  brought  out  by  having  them  ;  it  involves  the  fact 
that  He  will  not  do  without  his  saints.  Let  us  take 
the  illustration  from  Israel ;  we  can  understand  how 

42 


Moses    would    plead  with    Israel  when  he  was  in 
Egypt  and  when  they  had  gone  through  the  Red 
Sea,  that  they  should  remember  what  is  the  hope  of 
God's  calling.    Certainly  they  were  called  in  a  very 
unique  way.    They  were  the  slaves  of  the  Egyptians, 
but  God  called  them  out  completely  and  separated 
them  in  the  desert,  and  they  were  there  forty  years 
that  He  might  dw^ell  among  them  and  make  them 
understand  what  they  were  called  out  for.     What 
would  be  the  use  of  making  them  cross  that  desert  if 
they  did  not  know  what  they  were  called  for  ?    They 
must  go  and  take  the  land ;  God  had  just  allowed 
the  others  to  be  there  as    squatters.      God  never 
counted  the  wealth  of  all  the  kings  in  all  the  prov- 
vinces  of  that  land  in  any  way,  and  yet  there  was 
plenty  of  wealth  there  ;  plenty  of  war  instruments  ; 
plenty  of  land  to  till  and  cultivate  ;  but  God  never 
counted  it  anything.     No,  He  must  get  His  saints 
there.     They  were  His  earthly  saints  then.     That  is 
the  first  time  that  God  would  write  the  history  of 
that  land,  when  they  were  connected  with  it  in  anti- 
cipation or  possession.     Does  this  give  an  illustration 
of  the  wealth  of  God  in  His  saints  ?    In  like  manner  > 
we  are  called  to  the  heavens ;  and  you  know  this 
links  it  so  closely  with  that  in  John  xiv. :  **I  go  to 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  , 
may  be  also."    He  is  the  forerunner,  in  Hebrews  j  \ 
gone  up  into  that  place  ;  and  yet  it  is  not  occupied  \\ 
by  us,  for  the  enemy  is  there;  "principalities  and  ll 
powers  "  are  there  fo  be  expelled,  and  we  are  to  oc-  f 
cupy  it ;  everything  awaits  usj  we  are  just  to  go  up' 
and  take  possession  with  Christ  of  that  which  satis- 
fies Him,  to  the  place  which  He  has  prepared,  and  i 
to  occupy  it  according  to  the  full  breadth  and  length  ■ 
of  it,  according  to  His  thoughts  and  mind  and  pur- 
poses.    And  He  wants  us  to  understand  it  now  ;  not 
to  refer  a.U  this  to  when  we  die  or  when  we  arel 

43 


caught  up  ;  we  are  to  feel  its  force  now.  From  the 
day  that  God  called  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  they  were 
separated  unto  that  land.  That  ought  to  have  been 
cheering  and  charming  them, — the  thought  of  the 
Amorites  driven  out  and  their  walls  razed  and  their 
land  taken  up  by  themselves  ;  a  new  people  ;  a  cir- 
cumcised people  ;  a  redeemed,  an  exalted,  an  anointed 
people  I  It  was  their  business  to  keep  that  before 
them  all  the  time,  and  step  more  and  more  like  con- 
querors all  the  way  through  until  they  got  there  ; 
not  to  wait  until  they  got  there,  but  to  be  filled  with 
the  idea  of  Jericho  falling,  and  the  cities  being  taken 
generally.  It  was  their  business  to  do  that ;  and  do 
you  not  see  that  it  was  their  business  to  walk  by  faith 
in  reference  to  it  ?  Because  God  did  not  tell  them 
all  about  it  but  allowed  them  to  send  spies  that  they 
might  see  that  what  He  told  them  was  true ;  and 
they  came  back  laden  with  the  fruits  of  the  place,  to 
show  them  what  it  was  ;  but  then  as  the  very  high- 
est incentive  that  they  ought  to  go  there  they  were 
told  about  the  walls  and  the  giants,  and  if  they 
had  walked  by  faith,  they  would  have  said,  '*  We 
will  go  through  all  this.  If  He  be  with  us  all  these 
things  shall  be  conquered  !  " 

The  riches  of  that  place  were  to  be  counted  by  God 
when  He  had  His  people  in  it.     Now  that  is  just 
what  the  riches  of    His  inheritance  in  His  saints 
means  now.     Why  did  we  not  hear  of  heaven  in  the 
Old  Testament  ?    Because  there  were  not  any  saints 
I  to  occupy  it.    There  was  no   occasion   to  exploit 
heaven  in  the  Old  Testament  at  all.     God  and  angels 
were  there,  and  they  came  down  here  to  dwell ;  but 
who  dwelt  there  ?    If  they  spoke  about  God  dwell- 
ing there,  it  was  at  a  distance.     "  The  heaven  of 
heavens  cannot  contain  Him."    Now  the  whole  mat- 
j  ter  is  heaven,  not  earth,  at  all,  at  present.     Do  un- 
■  derstand  that  there  is  not  a  particle  of  the  ^^rth  t9 


be  occupied  now.    "We  have  no  business  to  try  to 
make  it  better  !    We  have  nothing  to  do  with  root- 
ing out  anything !    What  have  we  got  to  do  with 
this  world  ?    The  whole  scene  is  heaven.     Well,  but  • 
we  are  down  here;  some  say,  "What  about  the 
wilderness  ? "  let  us  see.    If  Israel  had  been  think- 
ing about  the  wilderness,  they  never  would  have 
reached  the  land,  and  some  of  them  did  not, — they 
perished  in  the  wilderness.    Keep  the  thought  on 
heaven,  and  think  of  the  conquest  now  in  heavenly 
places.    Kemember  that  heaven,  as  a  final  thing,  is^ 
not  found,  in  type,  in  Joshua  and  Judges  ;  not  until 
Solomon  is  seated  on  his  throne  is  there  any  final  type^A 
of  heaven  to  us.    Kemember  that  between  Joshua's!; 
entrance  and  Solomon's  throne  is  just  the  part  that 
Ephesians  covers.     Here  are  men  that  in  simplicity 
are  holding,  amidst  the  opprobrium  that  is  heaped 
on  them,  the  one  fact  that  they  are  seated  in  heavenly 
places,  and  they  are  taunted  every  day  in  the  week 
with,  "  What  are  you  doing  ?  "    They  are  doing,  by 
that,  more  than  all  their  critics,  because  that  is  the 
one  thing  to-day.  Anybody  that  proposes  to  improve 
the  world  is  out  of  the  circle  of  God's  thoughts. 
Ephesians  lets  us  know  that  very  definitely.    That/ 
is  the  second  thing  in  the  prayer. 

Beloved,  let  us  remember  that  it  is  not  many  years 
that  this  truth  of  Ephesians  has  been  recovered;  and 
let  us  therefore  not  be  satisfied  to  be  occupied  with 
the  things  that  our  fathers  had,  even  as  godly  men. 
Remember  that  we  have  had  truth  that  was  given  in 
the  beginning  brought  back  to  our  ears  and  our 
hearts,  and  therefore  we  should  be  ashamed  to  be 
as  our  grandfathers  were,  and  we  should  be  ashamed 
to  blush  at  taunts  of  "  What  are  you  doing  ?"    Our  f 
business  is  entirely  with  the  glory,  and  if  you  want  ( 
a  key  to  it,  take  Hebrews  iii.  1 :  "  Wherefore,  holy  ' 
brethren,  partakers  of  the  heavenlj^  palling,  consider 


Him."  That  is  where  we  see  Him ;  He  is  not  here. 
Then  we  go  into  Chap,  xii.,  and  it  says,  "consider 
Him. "  And  I  consider  Him  as  He  was  down  here,  the 
beginner  and  the  ender  of  faith.  But  we  first  are 
called  upon  to  consider  Him  up  there ;  here  taking 
hold  in  our  own  hearts,  being  linked  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  to-day,  it  is  the  hope  of  His  calling  ;  and  then 
the  riches  of  His  inheritance  in  His  saints,  He  and 
they  occupying  it  all  j  every  place  that  the  sole  of 
our  feet  shall  tread  upon  then  to  be  ours.  This  is 
the  only  proper  way  to  live. 

The  third  thing  that  He  asks  for  that  we  might 
know  '*what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His 
power  toward  us  who  believe,  according  to  the  work- 
ing of  His  mighty  power."  Power  toward  us,  re- 
member, in  our  behalf  ;  power  shown  in  bringing  us 
into  this.  The  very  beginning  of  this  gospel,  as  Paul 
gives  in  Romans, — Christ  is  declared  to  be  the  Son 
of  God  with  power.  The  gospel  itself  is  called  the 
gospel  according  to  the  power  of  God  in  2  Tim.  i.  8. 
Do  you  see,  therefore,  that  we  might  know  what 
•  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His  power  ?  Here  is 
a  power  beyond  all  other  power.     Surely  it  was 

ti^     power  that  stretched  out  the  heavens,  and  filled  them 
with  their  dust  of  stars  ;   surely  it  is  pow^r   that 

,v^  keeps  everything  in  its  place,  and  makes  everything 
move  ;  it  was  power  that  formed  Adam ;  it  is  power 
that  sustains  man  ;  it  was  power  that  brought  back 
the  world  after  the  Flood ;  it  was  power  that  took 
Israel  out  of  Egypt.  It  is  recalled  to  our  minds  in 
Romans  ix  :  "  What  of  God,  willing  to  show  His 
wrath  and  to  make  His  power  known,  endured  witli 
much  longsuffering  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  unto 
destruction."  And  then  He  came  and  showed  mercy 
to  those  that  He  fitted.  Now  there  was  power  in  all 
i  that.  A  fine  illustration  of  power  was  that  opening 
of  the  Red  Sea^  and  having  them  get  out  on  the 


other  side,  and  sing  that  wondrous  song  of  Jehovah; 
and  then  it  was  power  by  which  He  brought  back 
the  remnant  after  He  had  driven  them  out  of  the 
land.  But,  really,  He  never  shows  the  exceeding 
greatness  of  His  power  until  He  comes  to  the  match- 
less thing  He  has  done  for  us,  and  now  He  calls  our 
attention  to  it,  and  asks  that  we  might  know  what 
is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His  power  toward  us 
who  believe.  This  power  is  that  by  which  He 
raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the  dead.  The  power 
toward  us  is  that  He  has  raised  us  up  also,  and  now[ 
our  apprehension  of  that  power  is  that  we  know\    / 


resurrection  standing,  and  it  is  as  simple  as  any 
thing  you  can  state.     Why  do  men  pray  for  power, 
to  get  a  name  as  servants  ?    God  has  not  called  us 
to  be  servants.  It  is  only  playing  with  words  to  talk 
that  way ;  there  is  no  Scripture  for  it.     I  am  quite 
aware  that  there  was  a  word  given:    *'You  shall 
be  endued  with  power  from  high,"  but  what  were 
they  when  it  was  there  ?    Only  Jews,  and  it  came 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
Then  power  is  shown  in  resurrection.     It  is  not  to' 
have  resurrection  shown  to  us ;  He  wants  us  to  know 
it.  The  great  thing  is  that  we  are  to  know  just  what 
He  has  done.     *' According  to  the  working  of  the  \ 
strength  of  His  might."    You  see  that  has  to  double  ^ 
the  word  ;  **the  strength  of  His  might  !" 

Vers.   20,   21.     **  Which  He  wrought    in    Christ, 
when  He  raised  Him  from  the  dead,  and  set  Him  at 
His  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above 
all  principality  and  power  and  might  and  dominion 
and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world 
but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come."    That  is  where] 
the  power  is.     It  is  not  that  you  may  get  power,  but/ 
that  you  may  know  that  power  that  He  exercised, ; 
to  know  what  your  standing  is.  He  hath  raised  Him' 
from  the  dead,  and  set  Him  far  above  principalities* 

47 


fj-ViTi 


and  powers, — ^that  is  all  of  Satan's  hosts  in  the 
heavenlies.  "And  every  name  that  is  named,  not 
only  in  this  world  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come." 
A  reference  to  it  is  given  in  the  end  of  Eomans  viii. 
We  look  back  upon  the  wilderness  and  say,  "We 
are  more  than  conquerors  through  Him  that  loved 
us."  We  look  forward  to  all  the  Satanic  hosts  that 
we  are  to  meet,  and  say,  "  For  I  am  persuaded  that 
neither  death  nor  life  nor  angols  nor  principalities 
nor  powers  nor  things  present  nor  things  to  come 
nor  height  nor  depth  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  There  is  the  true  idea  of 
power.  Here  He  is  praying  to  the  Father  of  glory 
that  we  may  know  what  is  the  working  of  the  power 
of  His  might,  by  which  He  raised  Him  up  and  set 
Him  there,  far  above  all  these  principalities  and 
powers.  So  we  can  say  that  we  are  persuaded  that 
nothing  can  touch  us ;  but  you  will  find  that  when 
we  come  to  Chap.  vi.  we  must  fight, 

Yers.  22,  23.  "And  hath  put  all  things  under  His 
feet  and  gave  Him  to  be  the  Head  over  all  things  to 
the  Church  which  is  His  body,  the  fullness  of  Him 
that  fiUeth  all  in  all."  Is  not  that  a  distinct  place  ? 
Head  over  all,  and  Head  to  the  Church.  It  is  as  if 
I  were  Governor  of  the  state,  and  my  head  and  body 
go  together ;  my  head  is  to  the  body,  and  I  am  head 
over  the  state.  What  a  unique  place  we  have,  the 
church  itself  His  body !  The  fullness  of  Him  that 
filleth  all  in  all !  It  is  precisely  the  thought  of  the 
human  body.  My  body,  after  all,  is  the  fullness  of 
the  head,  in  this,  that  I  could  not  do  anything  with- 
out it,  Imagine  a  fish's  body  given  to  your  head  ! 
A  fish  could  not  carry  out  what  is  projected  by  your 
head.  You  must  have  just  the  kind  of  body  that 
was  made  for  you  ;  and  this  body  is  the  fullness  of 
the  head.    Now  we  are  the  fullness  of  that  Head  up 

i9 


yonder  in  the  glory.    He  fills  every  one  Himself,  who 
fills  all,  in  all. 

All  along  through  this  book  we  must  keep  these.  9  JL^ 
three  things  before  us:   what  is  the  hope  of  Hisj'     /  , 
calling,  and  the  riches  of  His  inheritance  in  the:    L.«>J 
saints,  aad  what   is  the  working  of   the   mighty 
power.    He  says  that  is  working  toward  us, — and'I^vv^ 
therefore  we  get  the  next  thought,  *'  and  you."  This  ' 
is  opening  out  to  us  what  the  truth  is,  and  what 
Christian  living  is,  because  it  tells  us  what  our  call- 
ing is  and  what  our  standing  is.     May  God  make  it 
jnore  and  more  to  the  heart  and  the  walk  I 

4t9 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ver.  1.  "  And  you  hatb  He  quickened,  who  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.''  **  Such  were  some  of 
you,"  the  Holy  Spirit  says  in  First  Cor.  vi.  after  giv- 
ing some  ten  descriptions  of  evil  character,  idolaters, 
murderers,  and  thieves,  etc.  **Such  were  some  of 
you:  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but 
ye  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
by  the  Spirit  of  our  God."  Here  in  Ephes.  we  are 
not  looking  at  conduct  so  much  as  at  condition,  and 
we  are  seeing  in  this  chapter  the  material  out  of 
which  this  body  of  Christ— His  fullness— is  formed. 
In  the  last  chapter  it  said  that  He  was  raised  up  and 
seated  in  the  heavenlies,  far  above  principalities  and 
powers  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  age,  but  in  that  which  is  to  come,  and  made  the 
Head  over  all  things  to  the  church,  and  then  this  be- 
gins,— "Even  you,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins";  leaving  out  the  words  in  italics,  I  should  read 
it  in  that  way.  As  was  said,  Ephes.  finds  us  in  the 
place  of  death.  J  esus  is  dead  and  raised  up  by  the 
power  of  God  and  set  in  the  glory ;  and  we  were 
dead,  too,  and  then  raised  up  with  Him.  First  he  is 
referring  to  the  Gentile  believers,  for  he  says,  "you" 
land  "we";  the  "you"  refers  to  the  Gentiles,  and 
I  the  "  we  "  to  the  Jewish  portion.  You  Gentiles  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  God's  definition  of 
death  in  regard  to  our  body  is  the  body  without  the 
spirit  is  dead.  His  definition  of  death  in  relation  to 
1  Him,  is  man  without  God,  given  in  the  second  part 
'  of  this  chapter  :  "having  no  hope  and  without  God 
in  the  world."  It  is  then  the  same  as  my  dead  body 
without  the  spirit.     In  First  Tim.  v.  a  woman  is 


Spoken  of  as  being  dead  while  she  liveth,  because 
she  is  acting  apart  from  God's  mind.  Here  it  is 
dead,  without  God.  How  ?  In  trespasses  and  sins. 
And  we  see  that  while  dead,  they  were  very  active. 

Ver.  2.  "  Wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked  accord- 
ing to  the  course  of  this  world,  according  to  the 
prince  of  the  power  of  the  air.  the  spirit  that  now 
worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience."  That  is 
simply  as  their  fathers  walked,  as  everybody  walked, 
just  as  they  are  at  it  all  around  us.  They  are  walk- 
ing apart  from  God  and  all  His  thoughts,  as  Cain 
was  when  out  of  the  presence  of  God,  and  he  built 
for  himself  while  out  of  the  presence  of  God. 

This,  then,  was  the  condition  of  this  Gentile  por- 
tion of  the  body  of  Christ ;  walking  according  to 
the  course  of  the  age.  You  know  what  that  is  ;  it  is 
going  on  away  from  God  ;  but  it  is  more  than  that ; 
led  by  Satan,  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air; 
and  to  make  it  clear,  "the  spirit  that  now  worketh 
in  the  children  of  disobedience."  That  refers  to  the  j 
Jews,  for  they  were  under  the  law,  and  disobeyed  it.  ( 
Now  the  same  spirit  led  you  wholly.  He  is  still  the 
prince  of  this  world,  having  everything  under  him. 
We  know  that  when  the  hope  of  the  Jew  was  given, 
to  have  Christ  as  their  Prince  and  King,  and  all  that 
God  purposed  He  should  be  and  shall  be ;— they  said, 
**Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas  !"  They  really  chose 
Satan  in  choosing  him.  It  is  strange  that  Barabbas 
means  "son  of  the  father."  (The  antithesis  of  all 
that  Christ  was  and  is)— a  robber  and  a  murderer. 
That  is  precisely  the  character  of  Satan,  he  is  a 
murderer,  a  liar,  and  a  robber.  In  Luke  x.  that  man 
that  fell  among  thieves  is  the  sinner  in  Satan's 
hands. 

Such,  He  says,  you  were.  It  is  simply  condition  ; 
it  is  nature,  and  the  nature  showing  itself.  In 
Romans  it  says  that  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed 

51  I 


from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness.  We  are  shown 
in  that  first  chapter  that  the  unrighteous  condition 
came  from  the  ungodly  nature.  They  did  not  like  to 
retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  and  God  gave  them 
up  to  act  out  the  evil  that  was  in  them.  Had  they 
stayed  with  God,  this  would  have  been  restrained. 
They  were  thus  acting  according  to  the  course  of 
this  world,  that,  we  are  told  (First  John  v.)  lies  in 
the  wicked  one  and  hates  God  and  hates  Christ  and 
hates  Christ's  own.  (John  xvii.)  The  mind  of  the 
flesh  that  is  spoken  of  in  Romans  viii.  is  enmity 
toward  God ;  it  is  acting  out  the  hatred  and  enmity. 
And  you  were  this. 

Now  he  turns  to  the  Jewish  believer,  "among 
whom  we  also  had  our  conversation," — acting  of  cit- 
izenship, if  you  will.  It  is  the  same  word  and  refers 
to  practical  living.  "  Among  whom  we  also  had  our 
living."  These  people  were  under  the  law.  The  law 
labeled  all  this  conduct :  murder,  idolatry,  thieving 
and  lying.  Therefore  it  speaks  of  conduct  here  as 
the  acting  out  of  the  lusts.  The  law  came  as  a 
school-master  to  restrain ;  never  to  make  them  bet- 
ter, but  to  hold  them  in.  *' Among  whom  we  also 
had  our  living  in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  fulfilling  the 
desires  of  the  flesh  "  ;  but  worse  than  that,  the  mind 
went  with  it.  The  very  thing  that  is  appealed  to  in 
regard  to  practical  acting  is  the  mind,  as  we  have  it 
in  Col.,  "Set  your  mind  on  things  above."  It  is 
always  the  practical  matter  of  living  godly.  I  am  not 
told  to  be  a  new  man  ;  I  am  that,  but  to  let  my  mind 
take  hold  of  it.  I  am  not  told  to  be  risen  with 
Christ  because  I  am,  but  I  can  be  told  to  apprehend 
it.  The  whole  mind  was  bought  over  to  all  this  vile 
conduct.  Now  this  has  its  type  in  Gen.  i.  2  :  *' And 
the  earth  was  without  form  and  void."  A  mere  ruin. 
God  did  not  make  man  that  way  any  more  than  He 
1  made  the  earth  that  way.    (Is.  xlv.  18.)    He  never 

5S 


made  it  to  be  empty  and  a  ruin ;  but  He  made  it  to  7*^ 
be  inhabited.  So  He  made  man  for  something  else,  .i^W"^ 
and  then  finds  him  in  this  condition.  And  just  as  in  ^^^< 
creation,  that  had  got  down  to  this  awful  scene  of 
ruin,  so  this  is  the  place  for  God  to  come  with  the  ^^^^ 
Spirit  and  the  word.  Here  the  Jews  were  shown  to 
be  children  of  wrath  even  as  the  Gentiles,  but  then 
the  Gentiles  were  under  th^  same  spirit  as  ruled  the 
Jews.  Both,  all  were  alike.  So  we  have  God  in  this 
chapter,  coming  in  a  fuller  way,  not  simply  acting, 
but  God  being  rich  in  all  His  actions.  In  Chap.  i.  7 
it  says,  **We  have  forgiveness  of  sins  according  to 
the  riches  of  His  grace."  It  is  the  rich  God;  it  is 
God  according  to  all  that  is  in  Him.  It  is  on  this 
that  He  acts ;  just  what  He  is  in  Himself ;  all 
brought  out  by  man's  sin,  and  all  manifested  by  the 
cross  and  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  It  is  the  open- 
ing of  heaven  through  all  this,  and  God  perfectly 
told  out.  All  that  we  get  in  Ephes.  is  a  grand  super- 
lative ;  no  minor  things  to  talk  about ;  all  the  fullest 
and  deepest  and  widest.  **  But  God,  who  is  rich  in 
mercy."  After  all,  nothing  could  get  beyond  Him. 
Man  in  his  ruin  could  not. 

Ver.  4.  *'But  God  who  is  rich  in  mercy  for  His 
great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us."  Mercy  would 
not  be  spoken  of  in  reference  to  angels  that  excel  in 
strength.  It  is  not  spoken  even  of  those  that  are 
raised  and  seated  in  heavenly  places.  The  addresses  \ 
to  the  church,  as  such,  never  have  the  word  ''mercy 
in  them.  *' Grace  and  peace  to  you;"  but  when  he 
comes  down  to  the  individual,  like  Timothy  and 
Titus,  he  may  say,  "  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace ;"  be- 
cause there  is  need,  in  his  individual  weakness,  for 
mercy.  Such  is  the  character  of  mercy,  that  it  only 
looks  at  the  wretched  condition.  The  church,  of 
course,  cannot  be  looked  at  in  this  position,  as  need- 
ing mercy.    But  here,  "  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy." 

68 


^Y^ 


We  have,  in  Rom.  iii.  25,  Christ  set  forth  as  a  mercy- 
seat.  God  has  a  righteous  ground  for  laking  us  up, 
guilty  ones,  and  placing  us  before  Him  as  sons. 
It  is  on  the  ground  of  what  Christ  has  done,  meeting 
the  whole  matter.  But  in  Ephes.  it  is  not  a  question 
of  righteousness ;  it  is  simply  mercy.  It  is  not  to 
show  out  His  righteousness  ;  it  is  to  show  forth  the 
exceeding  riches  of  His  grace.  How  about  God 
dealing  with  us  righteously  when  He  finds  us  sim- 
ply poor  miserable  lost  things,  and  pronouncing  us 
guilty  ?  In  Ezekiel  xvi.,  looking  at  the  whole  of 
Israel  simply  as  a  helpless  thing,  He  says,  "  It  was 
a  time  of  love."  Love  shows  itself  toward  wretch- 
edness and  ruin ;  righteousness  shows  itself  toward 
guilt.  And  that  is  God  ;  in  both  cases  God  is  won- 
drously  magnified.  He  is  rich  in  mercy  and  He  acts 
for  His  great  love's  sake  wherewith  He  loved  us. 
We  get  great  love,  a  great  salvation,  a  great  act  of 
power  by  which  He  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead, 
a  great  Saviour  Himself,  coming  out  and  saying, 
"Sacrifice  and  offering  Thou  wouldest  not,  but  a 
body  didst  Thou  prepare  for  me;  In  whole  burnt 
offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sin  Thou  hadst  no 
pleasure  :  then  said  I,  Lo,  I  am  come  (in  the  roll  of 
the  book  it  is  written  of  me)  to  do  thy  will,  O  God  !" 
He  plunges  right  into  the  whole  thing,  goes  down 
into  the  lowest  depths  and  takes  up  the  lost.  Every- 
thing about  it  is  great.  The  great  depth  from  which 
we  were  taken,  and  the  great  height  to  which  we  are 
placed.  It  is  greatness  all  through  to  the  glory,  and 
all  through  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth. 
"  For  the  great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us  !"  You 
have  no  small  thing.  You  cannot  talk  about  love  in 
this  without  putting  an  adjective  before  it.  In  Chap. 
i.  we  had  the  ** power  of  His  might;"  not  simply 
power,  and  not  simply  might,  but  the  power  of  His 
might.    You  and  I  have  a  reason  for  joyful  confi- 

64 


dence  in  God.     There  was  nothing  grudging  andf 
nothing  small  in  what  was  done.     It  is  not  sufficient) 

to  raise  up  Christ God  gives  Him  the  highest; 

name  in  the  glory. 

We  have  then,  "  For  the  great  love  wherewith  He 
loved  us,"  and  (Ver.  5)  *'Even  when  we  were  dead 
in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ ;  (by- 
grace  ye  are  saved.)"  He  has  to  bring  in  that  little 
parenthesis.  It  seems  that  it  is  brought  in  to  assure 
us.  We  might  say,  O,  that  seems  too  much  I  Some 
have  said  the  boldness  seemed  almost  blasphemy. 
It  is  to  meet  that  lack  of  confidence  in  us  that  He  re- 
minds us  that  it  is  grace,  G  od's  favor.  He  is  going 
to  show  His  favor.  He  has  had  something  that  has 
really  brought  out  all  the  love  in  Him.  Now  the 
grace  must  be  manifested ;  and  let  it  come !  Our 
highest  obedience  is  to  let  God  say  what  He  will, 
and  we  follow  it.  There  is  nothing  richer.  It  is 
just  letting  Him  do  that  that  He  shall  find  empty 
vessels  more  and  more  ready  to  take  it  in.  Is  not 
that  worship  ?  We  simply  respond  by  repeating  the 
lesson  we  have  learned,  in  His  ear.  For  He  is  bound 
to  make  us  worshippers  by  everything  that  He  does. 
If  He  had  left  one  grain  for  us  to  do,  we  would  never! 
have  been  worshippers.     It  would  yet  be  undone.       ) 

We  have  been  reading  in  Chap.  i.  that  He  quickened 
Christ,  and  He  takes  us  right  along  and  says,  "You 
are  with  Him  I"     Ver.  6.      "  And  hath  raised  us 
up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places,  in  Christ  Jesus."    Raised  us  up  together  in^ 
the  heavens  in  Him,  not  under,  but  in  Him.    It  is  , 
marvelous.      It  is  here  to  be  meditated  upon ;  the  ' 
heart  to  take  it  in  and  enjoy  it.     The  best  treatment 
of  God  is  to  enjoy  the  things  that  He  tells  us  and  to 
be  happy  in  them ;  for  He  is  the  happy  God  now  in 
all  that  He  does. 

What,    then,  has    He  done?    Seated  us  in   the 

66 


heavens.    It  does  not  speak  of  being  placed  there, 

and  then  getting  out  of  it ;  that  we  can  get  out,  or 

that  He  will  put  us  out.     Let  us  go  back  and  get  the 

^x^v       fundamental  word  of  Christ,  given  in  John  x.,  "I 

^  vV  ^^^^  unto  them  eternal  life ;  and  they  shall  ne^er 

^'^  -^     perish."     The  word  is  there  that  they  shall  never 

make  themselves  to  perish  ;  neither  shall  any  in  the 

broad  range  of  the  universe  pluck  them  out  of  His 

/hand.     And  further:  *'My  Father,  who  hath  given 

them  unto  me,  is  greater  than  all ;  and  no  one  is  able 

ito  snatch  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand."     Here, 

J    then,  He  says  "able  to."    It  is  a  question  of  power. 

jWe  have  learned  that  power  belongs  to  God.     In 

'Rom.  viii.  38,  we  have,  "For  I  am  persuaded  that 

neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities, 

nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  powers, 

nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall 

be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is 

in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."     Because  principalities 

and  powers  are  in  question  there ;  the  rulers  of  the 

darkness  of  this  age.    We  shall  have  to  fight  them, 

as  is  spoken  of  in  Chap.  vi.  here.    So  we  have  God's 

power  brought  into  the  case,  and  it  is  displayed  in 

raising  Him  up.   When  we  get  into  Col.  we  will  find 

that  Christ  is  the  one  subject.    And  here  it  is  God's 

^  own  power  and  wisdom  all  the  time. 

Well,  then,  seated  us  in  the  heavenly  places  for 
W^  I  what  purpose  ?  Ver.  7.  "  That  in  the  ages  to  come 
^  '  He  might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  in 
His  kindness  toward  us,  through  Christ  Jesus." 
And  this  is  to  show  Himself !  We  have  just  given 
Him  the  scope  that  He  wants,  when  we  have  made 
known  the  fact  of  our  being  lost  sinners.  If  I  go 
out  to  adopt  a  child,  I  might  find  various  ones,  of 
course ;  but  if  you  find  that  the  child  I  have  taken 
up  was  taken  from  the  meanest  place — ^the  most  un- 
likely place,  probably  from  an  enemy's  house,  and 


from  the  utmost  poverty  and  filth,— you  would  say, 
Well,  I  don't  see  anything  in  that  child ;  but  he  is 
showing  himself  and  how  loving  and  kind  he  is.     lit 
is  just  this,  and  we  were  mean  and  bad  enough  to  bef 
taken  up,  that  God  might  show  in  the  ages  to  cornel 
what  He  is.    God  had  no  other  means  of  showing! 
Himself  than  taking  up  such  lost  ones.     He  waited/ 
a  good  while  before  it  was  thoroughly  demonstrated 
in  us  ; — from  Adam  clear  down  to  Christ !     Then 
man  was  disclosed  as  bad  enough  to  begin  on,  for  He 
slew  God's  Son,  and  then  besides  the  meanest  of  all 
outsiders  taken  together  with  these  and  lifted  up  to- 
gether and  quickened  together  with  Christ,  company 
for  Him ;    and  raised  up  and  seated   together   in 
Christ.     Is  not  that  an  elevation  ?     Is  not  it  the 
riches  of  His  grace  ?  And  they  that  are  legal  in  their 
thoughts  are  wanting  to  rob  God  of  that  one  treas- 
ure of  His  heart.     Because  He  has  taken  us  up  to 
show  forth  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace.     In 
John  xvii.  Christ  prayed  that  we  might  be  there  in 
the  glory  and  manifested  as  one.     *'  That  the  world 
may  know  that  Thou  didst  send  me,  and  lovedst 
them,  even  as  Thou  lovedst  me."    Beloved,  we  shall 
be  like  Him  there,  because  we  are  as  He  is,  here. 
We  are  seated  in  the  heavenly  places  to  show  all  this 
wealth  of  His   love ;   the  exceeding  riches  of   His 
grace  through  all  the  ages.     There  is  the  millennial 
age  and  the  everlasting  age— the  new  heavens  and 
new  earth— and  we    are  to  be  linked  with    Him.  \ 
Whether  we  are  with  Christ  or  not,  there  is  one  [ 
thing  told  us,  that  we  are  the  habitation  of  God.  i 
We  learn  in  the  end  of  this  chapter  that  we  grow  j 
into  an  holy  temple  ;  just  now  a  tabernacle,  like  the  ' 
tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,   that   grew  into  the 
temple  when  Solomon's  hand  changed  it.     Thus  we  . 
are  growing  into  an  holy  temple  for  Him  to  dwell  in.  j 
We  have  Christ  and  the  Lamb  during  the  Millen- 

67 


nium,  ond  God  always.  What  a  marvelous  thought 
this  is  for  us,  brethren  !  That  God  has  taken  us  up 
to  show  Himself !  Shall  not  He  do  it  ?  Do  your 
hearts  refuse  to  let  Him  tell  out  His  grace  ?  It  is  not 
to  tell  how  much  we  are.  The  full,  high  thought  is 
that  He  has  taken  us  to  be  with  Him  during  the  mil- 
,  lennium,  and  through  the  eternal  ages,  to  show  His 
kindness  toward  us. 

You  remember  that  the  great  lie  of  Satan  was  that 
God  was  not  kind.  "  He  has  not  let  you  eat  that 
fruit,  because  He  knows  that  you  would  be  better 
off."  Christ  answers  everything  that  the  devil  has 
against  God.  He  answers  all  the  unbelief  and  the 
malignity.  Now  He  is  answering  that  first  fling 
against  Him,  that  He  is  not  kind,  for  we  shall  be  the 
revelation  of  His  kindness  through  eternity. 

Ver.  8.  **For  by  grace  are  ye  saved,  through 
faith ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves ;  it  is  the  gift  of 
God."  The  former  mention  of  this  was  paren- 
thetical, as  we  saw.  It  was  as  if  to  reinforce  the 
heart  in  regard  to  such  a  large  statement :  that  we 
are  quickened  together  with  Christ,  and  raised  up 
together  in  Him.  The  faith  shrinks  from  such  a 
thought,  as  though  I  say,  It  cannot  be  !  So  He  says, 
**  By  grace  ye  are  saved."  Do  not  refuse  it,  because, 
saving  you  by  grace,  He  can  do  anything.  But  now 
it  comes  as  a  direct  statement.  **For  by  grace  ye 
are  saved,  through  faith."  Here  we  are  taken  into 
Romans.  There  we  have  the  righteousness  of  God 
witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets,  now  mani- 
fested unto  all,  and  upon  all  who  believe,  for  there  is 
no  difference,  being  justified  freely  by  His  grace, 
**  through  the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 
There  is  the  foundation  of  it  all,  "the  redemption 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  It  is  all  done  freely,  be- 
cause it  is  grace.  Then  we  have  an  argument  on 
that  specially  in  Galatians ;  that  Christ  is  no  more 

68 


Christ  if  there  is  anything  placed  upon  you  to  do. 
If  there  is  anything  placed  upon  you  in  the  word, 
then  it  is  law,  and  there  is  no  more  grace  about  it ; 
or  else  law  would  not  be  law.  And  so  the  argument ' 
then  is  that  it  is  all  grace.  To  have  it  attended  or 
supplemented  by  anything  of  your  doings,  would  j 
simply  destroy  the  whole  idea  of  grace. 

*' Saved  by  grace."  "Saved,"  here,  is  absolutely 
delivered.  It  is  infinitely  more  than  forgiveness 
of  sins.  We  have  not  been  talking  about  sin  and 
forgiveness  but  of  our  condition  as  Gentiles  under  the 
dominion  of  Satan,  acting  out  our  nature ;  and  the 
Jew,  in  spite  of  the  law,  becoming  a  child  of  wrath, 
even  as  these  others.  It  is  grace  or  nothing,  is  it 
not  ?  But  you  see  it  is  looking  at  us  in  the  condition 
of  ruin  in  which  we  are  found,  and  therefore  He 
says,  **It  is  simply  grace."  And  not  only  that,  bu 
He  lets  us  know  that  it  is  altogether  a  gift ;  an 
everything  here  by  which  we  grasp  it  is  a  gift,  thd 
open  mouth  and  the  open  ear  and  the  open  eye,  all^ 
gift.  "  It  is  the  gift  of  God."  My  eye  is  as  much  a 
gift  as  the  scenery  around  me.  The  sun  and  the 
glory  of  the  earth  that  I  can  behold  and  the  faces  of  i 
my  friends, — they  are  all  gifts ;  the  object  of  the|} 
vision  and  the  power  of  vision.  So  are  the  taking  in^ 
of  the  message  from  God  and  the  hearfc  responding 
to  it.  How  varied  the  work  of  Christ !  And  then 
how  varied  the  ruin  into  which  He  came  !  As  in 
Rom.  iii.,  *' Where  is  boasting,  then  ?"  There  where 
we  are  being  righteously  dealt  with,  He  says, 
"  Where  is  boasting  ?"  It  is  excluded.  By  what 
law,  of  works  ?  No,  by  faith.  Faith  simply  takes 
what  Another  has  done. 

Here  it  is  the  same  way.  Ver.  9.  "  Not  of  works, 
lest  any  man  should  boast."  How  well  the  Holy 
Spirit  knows  us  !  If  we  had  an  atom  of  anything 
that  we  did,  we  would  rest  on  that.    Alas !  multi- 

69 


I  ship. 


tudes  are  depending  on  their  works.  This  is  what 
man  would  do  and  boast  of  it.  ''Not  of  works" 
knocks  all  that  to  shivers  !  Man  does  boast — there 
in  no  question  about  it.  "I  fast  twice  in  the  week ! 
I  give  tithes  of  all  that  I  possess  !"  There  was  one 
of  God's  Jewish  people,  who  had  fifteen  hundred 
years  of  God's  teaching  back  of  him,  and  yet  the 
man  says,  "  I  have  done  this  !"  Another  man  comes 
and  stands  before  God,  and  beats  his  empty  breast, 
and  says,  *'  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner  !"  and  he 
is  justified  rather  than  the  other. 

Ver.  10.  "For  we  are  His  workmanship,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which  God  hath 
before  ordained  that  we  should  walk  in  them."  We 
I  have  been  told  of  our  being  taken  up  for  a  specific 
\  object.  Here  we  learn  that  we  are  His  workman- 
A  beautiful  word  is  here  used.  The  word 
poem"  translates  it.  The  word  is  used  twice  in 
Scripture.  Once  in  regard  to  God's  old  creation 
(Rom.  i  20)  and  the  other  in  regard  to  this,  the  new 
and  distinct  creation.  We  find  that  a  creation  has 
all  these  elements  within  itself  to  be  expanded.  It 
stands  unique  ;  God's  masterpiece !  See  how  He  has 
done  it.  He  put  forth  His  mighty  power  to  do  it ; 
He  has  brought  in  the  riches  of  His  grace  to  do  it. 
By- and-by  we  will  find  that  He  has  put  all  His  wis- 
dom in  it.  And  He  holds  this  up,  the  highest 
thing  in  the  universe  !  And  we  are  that !  He  is  not 
speaking  to  us  individually.  In  Chap.  i.  He  says  He 
is  the  Head  of  the  church,  which  is  His  body,  the 
fullness  of  Him  that  fiUeth  all  in  all.  We  are  the 
ones.    He  has  raised  us  up. 

"  Walk  about  Zion  and  tell  the  towers  thereof,  and 
mark  well  her  bulwarks  "—was  the  word  in  regard 
to  another  piece  of  God's  work  down  here  on  the 
earth  ;  and  now  by  reason  of  the  glory  that  excelleth, 
th^t  is  nothing.    Here  He  holds  up  His  own  specifi^J 

«9 


work.  As  I  might  go  into  one  of  the  factories  of 
Europe,  where  for  the  last  year  the  best  brains  and 
thought  have  been  gathered  to  make  articles  to  be 
exhibited  in  the  World's  Fair,  and  there  will  be  the 
masterpieces  of  ten  thousand  shops,— and  I  say,  "  Do 
you  always  make  that  ?"  "■  No,  but  we  can  do  that. 
We  have  spent  more  time  on  that,  and  plans  have 
been  proposed  in  regard  to  that,  that  would  not 
enter  into  everything."  *' You  mean,  then,  that  this 
is  a  sample,  a  masterpiece  ?"    **  Yes." 

That  is  just  what  God  tells  us  in  this  chapter.   The  [    . 
church, — the  body  of  Christ,  the  fullness  of  Christ  i  )^^ 
Himself, — must  be  like  Christ ;  perfect  in  every  par-  1   •     ^^ 
ticular,  as  the  whole— a  unit — glorious  indeed.     And  \^^ 
we  learn  directly  that  He  has  not  only  constructed, 
but  He  has  continually  to  instruct,  that  He  may  pre- 
sent it  to  Himself  a  glorious  church,  without  spot  or  , 
wrinkle  or  any  such  thing.    Beloved,  we  are  not  tak- 
ing an  ideal  place.     It  is  as  real  as  the  form  you 
wear.    It  is  as  real  as  God's  own  existence.    It  is  as 
real  as  that  Man  that  He  has  raised  up  to  the  glory. 
*'If  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,"  we 
have  it  all.  We  are  linked  with  that  One.  And  where 
are  any  of  our  doings  in  this  matter  ?    We  are  His 
workmanship. 

Now,  the  perfection  of  this  masterpiece  is  that  it 
is  not  simply  for  show.  Suppose  they  were  to  make 
a  show  ship,  and  show  steam-engines,  and  show  pi- 
anos. The  ship  would  not  move,  and  the  engine 
would  not  move,  and  you  could  not  play  on  the 
piano,  and  what  are  they  worth  ?  The  very  idea  of 
having  things  about  the  house  is  that  while  they  are 
beautiful,  they  are  also  to  be  of  use.  Thus  use  is  the 
thing  that  it  is  made  for.  And  so  God  crowns  this 
with  glory,  and  all  that  is  highest  and  richest  and 
sweetest.  He  has  shown  His  own  infinite  thought 
through  it. 


That,  then,  is  what  the  church  is.  Created  in 
Christ  Jesus.  Created,  a  distinct  creation,  as  abso- 
lutely standing  by  itself  as  the  first  creation  was, 
when  God  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  This, 
then,  is  for  a  special  object;  ^'unto  good  works, 
which  He  had  before  ordained."  In  the  ages  before, 
God  alone,  with  the  Son  before  Him,  purposed  that 
in  Him  He  would  have  a  company  with  Him,  as  the 
^  object  of  His  own  delight,  and  He  would  have  some- 
thing that  should  show  out  Himself.  We  do  not  know 
in  the  ages  that  are  to  come  what  will  be.  We  do  not 
know,  but  we  are  at  the  dawn  of  the  universe,  our- 
selves. We  do  not  know  all  these  things  in  the  infinite 
space  above  us,  what  they  are ;  whether  they  are  just 
forming  or  not.  We  do  not  know  but  that  we  our- 
selves are  but  the  beginning.  It  is  the  first  work  that 
His  whole  heart  and  mind  and  strength  were  put  into; 
and  it  comes  forth  from  the  womb  of  the  morning. 
He  will  never  make  anything  like  it  again.  And  you 
and  I,  picked  up  from  the  dunghill,  are  the  ones  !  It 
crushes  and  breaks  one  down  to  the  very  ground  to 
think  of  such  love.  When  will  we  respond  to  it  ? 
We  could  not  respond  to  one  syllable  of  it  except  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and,  therefore,  let  Him  have  it  all 
and  none  of  our  thinking  and  acting  in  it.  **  Not  of 
works ;"  the  mite  that  we  would  contribute  we 
would  boast  of  all  our  life.  So  it  says,  *'not  of 
works,  lest  any  man  should  boast ;  for  we  are  His 
workmanship." 

Shall  we  go  to  religious  systems  to  learn  what  the 
works  are  to  be  ?  Shall  we  get  a  number  of  men  to- 
gether to  plan  out  what  we  are  to  do  ?  Or  shall  we 
wait  on  Him,  and  take  it  all  from  Him,  and  have  no 
ear  but  for  Him?  *'Unto  good  works!"  Yes. 
When  people  say,  ''What  are  you  doing?"  I  say 
that  we  are  doing  most  by  turning  our  backs  upon 
,  all  that  man  is  undertaking,  and  acting  according  to 


Second  Tim.  ii.  21,  22.  In  contrast  with  what  this 
tells  us,  everything  that  is  going  on  by  man  has  been 
blasted  by  the  breath  of  Satan,  call  it  by  whatever 
high-sounding  title  they  like. 

Here  at  the  end,  just  before  the  Lord  comes,  He 
revives  this  truth  for  us.     Let  us  take  it  up  then. 
The  good  works  were  that  those  He  had  in  His  mind 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world  are  to  be  carried 
out  up  in  the  glory.     Take  the  character  of  a  bride, 
which  is  given  in  Chap.  v.     Take  the  body,  that  is 
spoken  of  here.     Tell  me  if  the  prospective  bride  of 
a  man  is  called  out  to  work  all  the  time  until  she  is 
joined  to  him  ?    He  has  chosen  her  for  himself ;  and 
until  she  comes  to  him,  he  has  nothing  for  her  to  do. 
The  thing  she  is  chosen  for  is  to  be  with  him.    Ke- 
member  that  the  full  effulgence  of  our  light,  the  real 
glory  of  the  church,  are  to  come  out  directly ;  seen 
with  the  Lord  !    But  we  are  to  walk  in  them.    Now 
we  walk  with  our  head  and  heart   and  mind  in 
heaven.     In  Col.  iii.  it  is,  **Set  you  mind  on  things 
above."  In  Heb.,  which  just  opens  heaven,  and  tells 
us  about  Him  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 
it  is,  "  Consider  Him  !"  So  the  mind  is  to  be  on  Him. 
And  everything  in  all  these  books  is  to  get  the  heart; 
more  and  more  engaged  with  Him.    Now,  walk  thus  : 
and  with  the  Holy  Spirit  telling  us,  and  Christ  up 
there  as  the  object,  how  safe  our  walk  must  be  !  even 
though  we  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.     It  is  nothing  but  death  and  darkness  here. 
Though  we  walk  through  the  night,  we  are  children 
of  the  light.     It  is  the  glory  before  us  !    See  your 
calling  then !     We  are  created  for  something  after 
all.   It  is  not  individualized,  but  as  gathered  together 
in  one  and  made  one. 

Now  we  have  closed  the  first  part  of  this  chapter. 
This  has  had  to  do  with  our  individual  calling  as 
lost  sinners.    That  is  the  moral  condition. 


IsTow  the  second  part,  beginning  with  Ver.  11 — 
another  section  altogether — is  looking  at  our  dispen- 
sational  condition,  and  it  has  not  to  do  with  moral  or 
spiritual  matters  so  much.  It  is  what  you  were,  any- 
how. In  speaking  to  Gentiles  alone,  it  would  neces- 
sarily be  dispensational. 

Vers.  11,  12.  **  Wherefore  remember,  that  ye 
being  in  time  past  Gentiles  in  the  flesh,  who  are 
called  Uncircumcision  by  that  which  is  called  the 
Circumcision  in  the  flesh  made  by  hands ;  that  at 
that  time  ye  were  without  Christ,  being  aliens  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
covenants  of  premise,  having  no  hope,  and  without 
God  in  the  world."  At  that  time  you  were  apart 
from  Christ,  separated  from  Christ.  When  you 
know  that  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth  were  pre- 
pared to  be  in  His  hands  and  associated  with  Him ; 
that  everything  is  named  because  of  Him,  and  made 
by  Him  and  for  Him, — what  was  it  to  be  apart  from 
Christ !  We  were  there,  dispensationally.  I  go 
through  the  Old  Testament,  and  I  find  a  people  called 
out,  and  Christ  illuminates  every  page  in  regard  to 
that  people.  Everything  telling  of  Him,  as  though 
He  were  with  Him  all  the  time.  I  find  that  as  they 
got  further  away  from  God,  there  was  more  and 
more  of  Christ  told  out  before  them.  Prophets  were 
raised  up  on  purpose  to  tell  about  Him.  Christ  all 
the  time  before  them  !  The  Gentiles  were  outside, 
and  no  Christ  was  spoken  to  them.  They  were  apart 
from  Christ.  Why  ?  Because  they  were  aliims  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel  and  strangers  from  all 
those  covenants.  That  tells  the  story.  Then  you 
can  see  the  meaning  of  this,  "Having  no  hope!" 
When  did  God  ever  go  out  to  the  Gentiles  to  offer 
them  anything  ?  When  did  He  present  promises  be- 
fore them  ?  When  did  He  set  up  anyiaing  that 
should   tell   His   own   heart   toward   them?     H^ 

«4 


gathered  a  people  and  separated  them  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  put  them  in  the  land,  that  they  might  be  a 
blessing  after  a  while,  and  until  He  could  get  them 
ready,  what  hope  was  there  for  the  Gentiles  ?  And 
they  came  down  to  the  day  of  Christ's  death  and 
resurrection,  and  the  Gentiles  had  never  had  a  parti- 
cle of  blessing  from  the  Jew,  because  they  could  do 
nothing  but  curse.  What  was  our  hope  ?  None.  If 
there  could  have  been  any  mind  illuminated  in  re- 
gard to  those  things,  thoy  would  have  said,  "Well, 
there  is  no  chance  for  us.  These  that  are  His  own 
people — look  what  th'jir  condition  is !  The  very 
name  of  their  God  they  do  not  know  !  What  hope  is 
there  for  us  ?"  And  then,  what  ?  Without  God  ! 
All  this  time  God  had  not  made  Himself  known  f 
among  the  Gentiles.  It  begins  away  back  in  the ) 
descendants  of  Noah.  "Your  fathers  dwelt  on  the 
other  side  of  the  flood  and  they  served  other  gods." 
Now,  calling  Abraham  out  was  not  making  this  any 
better.  The  nations  were  still  without  God !  And 
"  in  the  world !" — Satan  the  head  of  it  and  the 
world, — as  it  is  said  in  the  beginning, — under  the 
prince  of  the  power  of  the  air.  Can  you  think  of 
anything  more  wretched  ?  Nothing,  save  to  have  it 
perpetuated  throughout  eternity.  No  wonder  He 
said,  "You  walked  according  to  the  course  of  this 
world.  That  is  all  you  had,  and  that  is  all  you 
were  !"  And  thus,  in  order  to  enhance  our  delight  in 
what  God  has  done.  He  tells  us  what  we  were. 
There  are  many  things  said  about  the  poor  sinner, 
but  they  never  reach  d|^vn  to  the  depth  of  this 
verse.  It  does  not  mean  me,  individually,  but  it 
means  the  whole  race  of  us.  All  the  Gentiles,  as 
such,  have  nothing  to  look  for  there.  Israel  had  it, 
and  they  would  not  let  anybody  else  have  it.  So  we 
were  then  absolutely  outside  of  the  range  of  God's 
€VctioA,    il^  turns  His  back,  so  to  speak,  and  says  to 


Israel,  "  You  only  have  I  known  of  the  inhabitants 

of  the  earth."    If  they  were  not  His,  and  we  shut 

s  out  from  God,  and  having  no  God — what  is  it  ?    You 

i  cannot  name  that.    " Lost"  hardly  tells  it.    Then  see 

how  beautifully  that  word  comes  in  in  Gal.,  ''Now 

f  that  you  are  known  of  God  !"    He  has  now  gone  out 

and  gotten  us ;  He  knows  us  ! 

Ver.  13.  "But  now,  in  Christ  Jesus,  ye,  who 
sometime  were  far  off,  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of 
Christ."  God  gives  special  emphasis  to  the  present 
period,  the  present  truth,  and  the  present  gospel, — 
the  now.  That  is  so  often  brought  forth  in  Paul's 
epistles.  Kom.  iii.  21 :  **  Now  the  righteousness  of 
God,  apart  from  the  law,  is  manifested."  Rom. 
viii.  1 :  "  There  is,  therefore,  now  no  coud^imnation." 
The  "  now "  is  this  time,  when  Christ  is  up  in 
heaven,  waiting  till  His  enemies  be  made  His  foot- 
stool, and  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty 
on  high.  God  is  gathering  out  a  people  and  link- 
ing them  with  Christ  as  His  own  body.  It  is  a  very 
special  time.  In  speaking  of  either  the  presence  or 
the  absence  of  this  truth,  we  speak  of  it  as  church 
truth.  We  speak  of  a  man  "  not  seeing  the  church," 
,or  the  truth  of  the  present  dispensation.  A  man 
i>  that  does  not  see  what  God  is  doing  now,  cannot  read 
the  Scriptures  intelligently.  He  is  apt  to  mix  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  people,  and  say  that  the 
I' church  began  with  Adam.  He  does  not  see  what 
God  so  clearly  brings  out  in  this  chapter,  when  He 
says,  "Ye,  who  sometime  were  far  off,  are  made 
nigh ;"  nor  what  is  given  in  1  Cor.  x.  32 — the  Jew, 
the  Gentile  and  the  Church  of  God.  Not  to  see  the 
"now,"  therefore,  is  to  fail  to  apprehend  all  truth. 
\  It  is  surely  a  very  different  thing  for  Christ  to  be  up 
in  heaven,  and  gathering  a  people  to  Him,  to  share 
with  Him  all  that  He  has  in  heaven,  from  being  a 
J^ing  ou  the  ^^rth,  reigning  over  ^  people  ^nd  toy-. 


bv-' 


ing  subjects — no  matter  how  loyal  and  obedient  they 
may  be.  This  is  the  distinctive  thing,  and  how 
richly  it  comes  in  here.  *'You  were  far  off  and 
aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,"  the  people 
with  whom  God  was  dwelling,  and  for  whom  He  was 
mapping  out  all  the  earth.  You  were  without 
Christ,  because  Christ  was  promised  to  them.  God 
made  no  promise  or  covenant  with  you.  You  were 
without  God  in  the  world. 

What  a  wondrous  breaking  in  like  light  at  noon-.^ 
day  this  is  !    But  now,  not  under  Christ  Jesus  but;  i^^^ 
"in  Christ  Jesus."    We  get  no  such  thought  as  that 
for  Old  Testament  samts.     It  is  only  for  us  in  this 
perfod.     In  Christ  Jesus!     That  very  verse  marks] 
what  is  distinctive  and  peculiar  in  Eomans  in  regard 
to  our  standing.     In  Chap.  iv.  it  looks  at  forgive- 
ness of  sins ;  when  we  get  further  along  in  Chaps. 
v.,  vi.,  vii.,  and  viii.,  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus.     It  is 
having  died  with  Christ ;  being  in  Him,  as  passing 
through  the  grave  into  resurrection.     It  is  being  in 
Him  before  God,  and  having  no    other    name    or 
nature  or  standing. 

You  must  see  that  the  Gentile  could  have  no 
standing  whatever  except  by  a  new  way.  The  01d> 
Testament  would  allow  him  nothing  of  inheritance.  I 
It  might  allow  him  blessing  after  Israel  is  restored 
to  their  place,  and  they  are  placed  there  to  bless  all 
the  nations.  For  a  Gentile  to  get  into  all  that  He 
speaks  of  in  the  beginning  of  this  book, — seated  in 
heavenly  places  and  blessed  with  all  spiritual  bless- 
ings, which  is  the  theme  and  text  of  the  whole 
book — he  must  be,  not  under  Christ  as  in  the  millen- 
nium, but  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  lifted  above  and  out- 
side of  everything  here.  There  will  be  milHons  of 
Gentiles  under  Christ  but  not  in  Christ.  Thus  in 
Christ  Jesils  we  are  brought  nigli.     "Ye,  who  were 


^V 


.  AM 

sometime  far  off,"— there  is  no  telling  how  much        ^ 

67 


that  means.  The  verse  preceding  told  us  that  we 
were  without  hope,  strangers  from  the  covenants  of 
promise,  aliens  from  Israel,  wherein  all  the  promises 

were  contained;    and  without  God: and    now, 

that  we  were  far  off.     The  distance  that  the  Gentile 

was,   as  such,   from  God  is  simply  immeasurable, 

because  they  were  separated  and  totally  apart  from 

'  God.      But  we  are  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of 

)  Christ ;  not  by  our  prayers  or  our  promises  of  ser- 

^  vice.     "  Not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast." 

So  it  is  nothing  of  these.     Not  by  pledge  of  anything 

that  we  would  do,  but  by  the  blood  of  Christ.    How 

the  Holy  Spirit  fulfills  His  work  in  taking  of  the 

things  of   Christ !     The  blood  of  Christ  brings  us 

'  nigh.       Now,    in    Rom.    v.    we    are    justified    by 

the  blood.     In  Col.  i.  we  have  forgiveness  of  sins 

through  the  blood.      In  Heb.  x,  we  enter  into  the 

holiest  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 

All  this  is  dispensational.  There  is  nothing  that 
depends  on  individual  faithfulness  in  all  this  ;  Israel 
were  God's  people  and  belonged  in  that  land,  without 
reference  to  individual  conduct  or  apprehension  of 
it.  They  were  there.  The  mistake  of  much  that  is 
called  Christian  living  is,  that  they  dwell  on  experi- 
ence and  make  relationship  to  God  depend  upon  it. 
We  are  dispensationally  in  heavenly  places.  We  are 
dispensationally  brought  into  the  holiest,  because 
we  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  we  are  dear  to  God 
and  loved  as  Christ  is.  These  things  ought  to  be 
thought  of  more,  and  told  out  more,  to  rid  people  of 
the  thought  of  their  own  experience  making  any- 
thing. The  word  of  God  forms  character  ;  the  grace 
that  is  shown  to  us  so  ineffably  forms  experience ; 
makes  ail  the  living,  too ;  not  that  the  living  makes 
the  position. 

Ver.  14.     "For  He  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made 
both  one,  and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of 

68 


partition  between  us."  Now  He  is  the  whole  of  our 
peace  with  God  and  peace  with  one  another.  That 
is,  the  Gentile  and  the  Jew,  for  He  says,  "  He  hath 
broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between 
us."  Here  is  the  dispensational  thought  carried  out 
still ;  making  both  these  parties  one.  Take  the 
kingdom  character,  when  Christ  reigns  on  the  earth. 
The  Jew  will  be  blessed  richly,  and  the  Gentile  will 
be  blessed,  but  they  will  not  be  one.  He  will  give 
one  language  to  Israel,  but  it  does  not  say  it  will  be 
so  with  the  nations.  They  will  have  one  King,  but 
He  does  not  speak  of  unity.  It  will  be  one  kingdom 
but  it  is  not  a  unit.  Here  He  has  made  both  one. 
Now  you  can  make  a  union,  but  it  counts  for  noth- 
ing with  God.  My  body  is  not  a  union.  It  is  a  unit,' 
one  spirit  guiding  every  motion.  So  He  has  made 
both  Jew  and  Gentile  one.  And  this  is  how  it  is 
done.  He  has  lifted  us  both  up  out  of  our  former 
place ;  the  believing  Jew  out  of  his  place  and  the  be- 
lieving Gentile  out  of  his,  and  brought  them  to- 
gether into  one.  Both  were  in  condemnation,  lost 
and  guilty.  And  now  they  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  We 
find  ourselves  (Gentiles)  having  as  much  title  to 
Christ  as  the  Jew,  that  had  all  his  literature  filled 
with  Christ  in  promise,  and  all  his  ceremonial  set- 
ting forth  Christ.  We  are  as  much  in  Christ  as  He^ 
is,  and  yet  we  have  come  in  at  the  eleventh  hour.  \ 
That  is  precisely  what  that  beautiful  parable  teaches 
us.  They  that  wrought  all  day  got  rio^ore  than 
those  that  wrought  one  hour.  It  is  grace  that  is  thus  , 
set  forth.  God  had  promised  them  Christ,  and  He 
puts  them  into  Christ,  and  Christ  died  according  to 
promise.  He  made  no  promise  to  us,  but  we  get  as 
rich  a  blessing  as  they. 

Vers.  15,  16,  17,  18.  '*  Having  abolished  in  His 
flesh  the  enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments 
contained  in  ordinances  :  for  to  make  in  Himself  of 

69 


twain  one  new  man,  so  making  peace  ;  And  that  He 
might  reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the 
cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby :  And  came 
and  preached  peace  to  you  which  were  afar  off,  and 
to  them  that  were  nigh.  For  through  Him  we  both 
have  access  by  one  spirit  unto  the  Father."  Now  we 
\are  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  through 
.Him  we  both  have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the 
Father.  Surely,  the  Jew  formerly  never  had  that. 
He  never  had  access  unto  the  Father.  Access  is  in 
I  Christ  Jesus  and  through  the  Spirit,  the  Spirit  set- 
ting forth  before  us  all  that  Christ  is,  and  all  that  we 
are  in  Christ,  and  dwelling  in  us  to  make  actual  to 
us  all  that  Christ  has  done.  That  is  the  Spirit's 
place  in  regard  to  apprehending ;  to  make  every- 
thing true  and  real  that  Christ  has  done ;  to  repro- 
duce Christ  in  us.  Our  abiding-place,  therefore,  is 
in  the  holiest. 

Ver.  19.  "  Now,  therefore,  ye  are  no  more  stran- 
gers and  foreigners  but  fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God."  It  still  refers 
to  the  Gentiles.  We  can  take  this  little  portion,  and 
put  it  against  all  the  prophecies  for  the  Jew,  and  say, 
*'  It  is  richer  still  and  better  than  all  they  had  !" 
We  do  not  have  to  go  back  into  those  prophecies  and 
say  they  all  belong  to  us.  It  is  a  mistake  to  say 
that.  They  are  all  earthly.  God  has  stocked  His 
word  with  promises  for  them,  and  yet  He  has  told  us 
more  in  this  one  little  section,  and  in  that  one  word 
"  in  "  than  all  the  prophecies  contained.  It  is  higher 
and  richer.  It  is  the  great  thing,  then,  and  it  came 
out  after  prophets  had  done  their  work  and  died.  It 
came  out  after  Christ  had  come  to  fulfill  the  prom- 
ises to  the  fathers  as  the  minister  to  the  circum- 
cision. It  came  out  after  man  had  lifted  up  unholy 
hands  and  smitten  God's  Son.  It  came  out  of  the 
gushing  heart  of  God.     The  prophets  were  incapable 

70 


of  holding  it,  and  had  no  pen  that  could  tell  out  all 
this.     God  has  brought  it  out,  like  the  sun  at  mid- 
day, without  any  preparation.     It  is  a  new  revela-;^ 
tion,  a  thing  hidden,  and  now  revealed  as  brightly  \ 
as  anything  can  be  revealed.     It  is  ours !    We  are  * 
no  longer  strangers  and  foreigners.     Never  to  be 
called  heathen  again  !    Nothing  of  that.    We  are  as 
near  as  they  are,   and  both  as  near  as  Christ  is    ' 
to  God.     Nothing  can  be  richer  and  sweeter  than  ^ 
that. 

Besides  this,  we  learn  that  He  has  blotted  out  the 
handwriting  of  ordinances.      Not  simply  dispensa-i 
tionally  that  we  are  here,  but  there  is  nothing  thatj 
can  stand  between  us  and  God,  by  circumcision,  or 
priestly    or    religious   code,    or   sacrifices    or    cere- 
monials.   They  are  all  gone.     We  have  nothing  to 
do  with  them.     There  is  nothing  intermediate  to  get  I 
us  to  God.     And  he  came  with  the  fullness  of  the 
revelation,  so  that  we  could  at  once — the  moment 
we    believe,    without    any    intermediate    steps — be 
placed  there.     The  handwriting  of  offences  between 
us  and  the  Jews  is  all  taken  away.     We  get  the 
same  thing  in  Col.     The  blood  of  Christ  has  done 
everything  !    It  brings  us  in,  and  it  blots  out  all  that 
is  written  against  us— that  anybody  might  refer  to— 
when  it  blotted  our  sins  out  and  blotted  us  out,  too, 
thank  God !    For  that  is  what  the  death  of  Christ 
did.    It  blotted  us  out  and  made  a  new  creation  in 
Christ  Jesus.     Now  we  must  be  where  God  places 
us.     It  is  as  wrong  for  you  and  me  to  leave  our  I 
standing,  and  act  as  though  we  were  Jews,  as  it  was  J 
for  angels  to  leave  their  holy  habitation.     They  are  ^ 
bound  in  chains,  reserved  unto  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day.    We  have  no  right  to  leave  the  place  God 
has  placed  us  in.     He  has  fixed  us  as  He  has  fixed 
the  stars,  in  our  heavenly  position.     Perfect  open- 
ness of  approach !     Access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the* 


71 


Father !    And  we  dare  not  leave  all  the  boldness  and 
confidence  of  such  a  standing  and  blessing. 
I     Now  to  correspond  with  the  foreigners  it  says  we 
'are  citizens — fellow-citizens.      But    where  am  I   a 
citizen  ?     In  heaven.     I  have  not  become  a  Jew. 
i  Where  can  it  be  but  where  Phil.  iii.  20,  tells  us,  in 
J  heaven.      To   correspond  with  the  word  strangers, 
we  are  members  of  the  same  household.     That  is 
u  nearer  and  dearer.    O  what  precious  names  we  get ! 
T  ;     We  are  called  "Beloved  of  God!"    We  are  called 
^v    ''Sons  of  God!"    We  are  called  dear  children  and 
X*^    saints  of  the  heavenlies.     We  are  worshippers  di- 
rectly, close  up  to  the  face  of  God.    All  these  things 
apply  to  us.     It  is  not  simply  that  none  of  them  ap- 
plied to  us  when  we  were  Gentiles,  but  none  of  them 
applied  to  the  Jew.      We  are  both  lifted  up  into 
another  household,  and  Christ  Himself  is  the  Head. 
It  is  hard  to  say  these  things  in  any  other  way  than 
in  the  simplest  words  that  can  be  said,  but  what 
massive  meanings  there  are!     It  is  sad  that  few 
apprehend  what  the  many    have    been  called   to. 
\  Every  believer  on  the  earth  to-day  is  just  where  this 
;  chapter  says  we  are.    But  how  becoming  it  is  for  us 
^  to  take  hold  of  these  things  because  they  are  de- 
parted from  so  much.     Many  have  practically  fallen 
from  their  high  estate.     They  have  come  down  to 
make  the  world  better, — as  if  we  could  ever  do  a  par- 
ticle of  good  when  we  are  out  of   our  place.     No 
father  would  allow  his  son  to  do  anything  in  the  po- 
sition of  disobedience.     If  you  had  placed  your  son 
in  the  house,  and  should  go  away,  and  come  back  to 
find  him  in  the  wood-pile  at  work,  it  would  count  for 
nothing  because  you  had  told   him  to  stay  in  the 
house.     There  is  nothing  in  it ;    not  being  in  their 
y      place  makes  it  of  no  value  to  God.    They  say  they 
^  fi  are  serving  the  Master.     We  have  not  the  word  Mas- 
^    (iter  in  the  scripture ;  it  is  teacher.    We  have  no  task- 

>^^^  ^- -—     r. — 


master  holding  a  rod  over  us.    We  are  brought  into  ^J^"^ 
the  place  of  nearness  to  God,  and  the  work  to  which  j^l  *n 


we  are  appointed  is  another  work  altogether  from 
what  men  are  choosing.     *'  Before  the  foundation  of    \,    '^ 
the  world  chosen  unto  good  works  which  He  Him-    *"  ^| 
self  has  appointed."    The  practical  part  of  this  book  fj^^^*^ 
will  tell  us.     If  I  were  talking  with  men  that  were  ' 
unfamiliar    with   these    things,   and  were  reading 
along  to  a  company  of  believers  that  were  just  saved, 
and  were  telling  them  about  this  position,  I  would 
say,  "  Wait  until  you  get  to  the  end  of  this  book." 
But  the  uneasy  mind  hinders  all  the  time.     Men  will 
read  Ephes.  and  go  and  act  the  Jew.     God  never! 
gives  any  word  or  credit  for  any  doing  that  is  out-  j 
side  of  our  place.  * 

I  have  left  out  some  passages.    "And  that  He 
might  reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the 
cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby  :  And  came 
and  preached  peace  to  you  which  were  far  off,  and 
to  them  that  were  nigh."    That  is,  the  peace  was 
preached  to  us.    It  had  to  be  proclaimed.    In  the  end  f>^Jk  jjp 
of  Luke  you  will  find  the  gospel  for  the  present  f  ^ 
period.    It  is  that  repentance  and  the  remission  of  \ 
sins  should  be  preached  among  all  nations.     It  is  a  ' 
distinctive  commission  for  this  time.     Of  course,  it 
goes  further,  for  in  preaching  Christ,  we  preach  not 
only  remission  of  sins,  but  a  new  man.    And  remem- 
ber that  we  have  Christ  here  as  the  peace,  then 
making  peace,  and  then  going  and  preaching  peace, 
and  it  extends  to  all  those  that  are  far  off,  and  these 
that  are  nigh.     Then  comes  the  word  about  our 
access. 

And  being  told  that  we  are  fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints,  we  are  also  told  this  (Vers.  20-22):  **And 
are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  cor- 
ner-stone; In  whom  the  building,  fitly  framed  to- 

78 


gether,  groweth  unto  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord; 
In  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together,  for  a  habita- 
tion of  God  through  the  Spirit."  Now  we  are  builded 
together.  Here  is  another  thought  than  simply  one 
body.  In  being  redeemed  we  are  joined  in  one  body 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is  what  forms  the  one  body, 
as  in  First  Cor.  xii. :  '^  For  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all 
baptized  into  one  body."  That  is  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  When  a  man  is  saved,  he  is  baptized 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  into  that  body.  He  need  not  pray 
for  this  baptism  ;  it  is  done. 
-^  Here,  however,  is  the  thought  of  a  house — a  build- 
ing— and  so  we  are  builded.  This  looks  at  the 
external  matter.  The  building  is  to  be  inhabited  by 
somebody,  but  we  are  not  the  inhabitants.  In  First 
Cor.  iii.,  it  speaks  about  our  being  stones.  "But 
if  any  man  build  on  the  foundation  gold,  silver, 
precious  stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble."  Now,  it  is  the 
church  which  is  God's  building.  Upon  what  is  this 
built  ?  Upon  the  foundation,  Christ  Jesus,  the  cor- 
ner-stone. We  learn  it  by  the  apostles  and  prophets. 
Now  they  giving  out  this,  as  Paul  says  in  First  Cor. 
iii. :  "  As  a  wise  master-builder  I  laid  a  foundation." 
He  was  a  wise  master-builder,  and  had  the  thing  in 
charge.  The  church  is  not  built  on  anything  but 
that.  Thp  house  may  have  those  that  are  not  living 
members  of  the  body.  The  workmen  can  bring  into 
this  wood,  hay  and  stubble,  but  God  never  does. 
J.  We  are  builded  together,  then.  For  what  purpose  ? 
*  ^'l  For  a  habitation  of  God  by  the  Spirit.  Then  it  was 
I  V^i  purposed  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should  inhabit  this 
"  house.     Then  it  says  that,  in  whom,  fitly  framed  to- 

il^' gether,  we  are  growing.     It  is  to  grow.     It  grows. 
^       It  is  rather  the  future  thought.     "  Grows  into  a  holy 
j  temple."    At  present  it  is  after  the  pattern  of  the 
'  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness.    It  is  a  wilderness  jour- 
ney, and  we  hold  the  ark  of  God,  and  the  various 

74 


^ 


vessels  that  speak  of  Christ.     We  just  carry  Christ  \  ' 
through  the  wilderness.    By-and-by  there  will  be  a 
temple  displacing  the  tabernacle,  and  that  will  be  in 
the  glory.     We  are  the  body,  of  course.     We  shall    , 
be  the  bride  then.     Looked  at  externally,  we  are  the  1 
house— the  tabernacle.     It  will  be  the  temple  then.  ? 
*'  Unto  an  holy  temple."    God  still  living  in  it. 

What  varied  glories  we  have  had  as  w^e  have  gone 
along  through  this   Chap,   ii.,  but  is  not  this  the 
crowning  one,  to  be  the  perpetual  residence  of  God  ? 
We  are  told  that  we  were  picked  up  but  yesterday) 
out  of  the  farthest  place,  and  are  now  brought  nigh, ' 
and  made  to  be  the  very  dwelling-place  of  God  Him-  ■ 
self.    How  wondrous  it  is!    Through  the  millennium 
and  through  the  ages  to  come  ! 

We  have  now  outlined  these  chapters.  Here  and 
there  a  little  word  about  it.  How  feeble  it  all  is ! 
The  chapter  itself  is  richer  than  all  that  can  be  told 
about  it.    May  God  make  it  rich  to  our  hearts  ! 


CHAPTER  III. 

We  find  from  this  chapter  that  there  are  certain 
secrets  in  the  Father's  bosom  that  He  never  let 
out  in  preceding  ages. 

We  had  closed  up  in  the  former  portion  of  this 
epistle — the  first  two  chapters--^  what  was  to  be  said 
in  regard  to  what  the  church  is.  its  calling,  its  pur- 
pose, its  pursuit;  what  it  is  for  all  the  ages,  and 
what  it  is  now ;  looked  at  in  itself,  as  related  to 
Christ,  forming  the  body  of  which  He  is  the  Head ; 
and  then  looked  at  as  a  house  of  God,  growing  into 
a  holy  temple,  to  be  a  dwelling-place  for  God  through 
all  the  ages,  the  millennial  age  and  the  eternal  age. 
A  marvelous  distinction,  a  wonderful  elevation,  a 
magnificent  reality  and  prospect ;  simply  unnamable 
by  any  of  our  thoughts. 

It  would  seem  natural  to  begin  the  practical  ex- 
hortations, after  having  given  the  full  statement  of 
the  truth,  but  there  is  something  else  to  tell.     These 
things  are  not  only  true,  but  they  are  true  according 
^J'^o  the  plan  that  was  hidden  in  the  bosom  of  God, 
"^  Himself,  and  in  His  mind.     Such  rich  things  could 
not  be  told  until  He  had  a  fit  audience.    Angels  were 
,  not  a  fit  audience  because  they  were  servants.    Israel 
were  not  a  fit  audience  because  they  were  simply 
subjects  to  a  king.    Gentiles,  of  course,  could  not  be, 
because  they  had  nothing  of  the  mind  of  God,  and 
.    when  Christ  came  they  knew  Him  not.     Who  could 
listen  ?    Who  could  receive,  and  to  whom  could  be 
told  this  infinite  secret  ?    To  none  but  the  saints  in 
^*\^  Christ,  raised  and  seated  in  heavenly  places,  just  as 
M"      He  is  ;  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling  and  QUtsid^ 
of  everything  here. 


This  secret  borrows  no  thought  from  anything  that 
has  ever  been  told  out  by  Himself  in  regard  to  the 
earth,  and  in  regard  to  the  people  of  the  earth.  And, 
of  course,  it  borrows  no  thought  from  anything  that 
man  has,  but  tells  from  His  own  heart  that  which 
had  been  kept  secret  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  Psalm  xlix.  tells  of  such  things.  Moses  tells 
out  that  there  are  such  things.  **  The  secret  things 
belong  to  God,  and  things  that  are  revealed  to  you 
and  to  your  children."  We  are  told  that  He  made 
known  His  ways  to  Moses,  His  acts  to  the  children 
of  Israel.  But  there  He  stopped.  That  wonderful 
doxology  in  Romans  xi.  reaches  the  full  scope  of  all 
this  wisdom  and  these  acts,  but  they  never  reach 
into  this  distinct  secret.     That  is  kept  hidden. 

"Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  that  God 
prepared  for  them  that  love  Him."  Whun  that  is 
quoted  in  First  Cor.  ii.,  our  apostle,  Paul,  says,  "But 
unto  us  God  revealed  them  through  the  Spirit."  We 
have  certainly,  in  looking  over  these  chapters,  learned 
something  very  animating,  something  great,  of  God's 
own  mind  and  heart  and  purpose  from  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  We  have  been  called  into 
a  place  that  is  wonderful  indeed,  but  now  we  are  to 
have  this  added  to  it.  He  tells  us  beside  the  revela- 
tion, " Now  understand,  this  revelation  is  definitely^ 
for  you  and  for  nobody  else."  It  was  never  told  to 
other  ages.  Moses,  David,  Isaiah,  Daniel— none  of 
the  men  of  the  Old  Testament  times— learned  it.  The 
angels  that  were  around  His  throne  had  no  hint  of  it. 
John  the  Baptist  and  the  Twelve  in  New  Testament 
times  never  had  the  disclosure  of  such  things.  We 
go  back  and  see  what  Christ  said  to  the  Twelve : 
"  You  have  been  with  me  in  all  my  trial.  You  shall 
be  with  me  in  the  glory,  and  sit  on  twelve  thrones." 
|Iq  4id  iiot  open  a  particle  to  them  beyond  that    JIq 


says  to  them  in  John  xv. :  "  You  shall  testify  of  me, 
because  you  have  been  with  me  from  the  beginning." 
There  is  a  supplementary  word  to  that  in  Acts  i. 
Peter  asks  which  of  those  that  had  been  with  Him 
through  His  ministry  here  should  be  chosen  to  take 
the  place  of  Judas.  The  Lord  Himself  appointed 
Matthias,  because  they  cast  the  lot  before  Him.  So 
he  who  was  not  kept  by  Christ  in  His  own  hand,  was 
superseded  by  another  one,  whom  He  Himself  chose. 
^  Then  the  Twelve  were  complete.  They  had  no  such 
;  revelation  as  Paul  gave,  which  is  the  thing  that  we 
'look  at  in  this  chapter.  He  began  where  they  left 
off.  It  is  not  to  tell  us  what  the  truth  is,  but  to  em- 
phasize it.  It  is  peculiar  to  us  and  to  our  time.  It 
is  a  gospel  that  was  hidden.  "  But  we  speak  God's 
wisdom  in  a  mystery,  even  the  wisdom  that  hath 
been  hidden,  which  God  foreordained  before  the 
worlds  unto  our  glory  :  which  none  of  the  rulers  of 
this  world  knew  ;  for  had  they  known  it,  they  would 
not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory."  We  are  told 
that  it  is  beyond  thought,  the  deep  things  of  God. 
Understand  it,  the  Holy  Spirit  must  dwell  in  us. 
' '  But  we  received  not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the 

^  y  Spirit  which  is  of  God."  Your  intellect  could  not 
JOiXJ  grasp  it,  and  it  cannot  be  gathered  from  the  Old  Testa- 

VJ^  ment.  It  was  not  there  to  be  gathered  from  it.  It 
vy"^  \  could  not  be  proved  out  of  the  prophecies.  There 
U   1  was  not  anything  that  involved  it,  because  it  was 

1^  J  not  there. 

J*^'  You  see,  then,  it  is  a  parenthetical  chapter  in  that 
I  respect.  Chap.  iv.  begins  in  the  same  way  that  this 
does,  so  we  could  leave  this  out.  But,  beloved,  the 
truth  that  is  given  is  not  simply  for  information  ;  it 
is  not  only  to  instruct  the  mind,  but  it  is  to  fill  the 
heart.  It  is  to  get  us  associated  with  the  Person  of 
Christ.  It  is  to  make  us  delight  in  Him,  make  us  at 
home  Vi\  Him,  to  glory  in  Him,  and  just  to  have  Him 

id 


everything  to  us.  The  peculiarity  of  the  truth  that 
we  have  is  just  that,  to  enrich  the  mind  and  heart 
and  conscience,  and  to  engage  the  faith ;  the  heart 
taken  up  with  Him  !  This  chapter  is  peculiarly  so. 
It  is  the  very  heart  of  the  epistle. 

Ver.  1.  **For  this  cause  I,  Paul,  the  prisoner  of 
Jesus  Christ  for  you  Gentiles  ; "  as  though  he  were 
going  on  beseeching  them  on  the  ground  of  what  is 
done.  You  know  all  exhortations  in  Scripture  are 
founded  upon  what  is  done  and  settled.  And  so 
here.  It  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  found  exhortations 
upon.  And  therefore  he  says,  *'I,  therefore,  the 
prisoner  of  the  Lord;"  adding  "for  you  Gentiles." 
Here  is  a  special  thing,  as  though  somehow  he  had 
been  brought  into  the  place  in  connection  with  the 
Gentiles,  that  have  never  had  anything  before.  The 
Jew  for  fifteen  hundred  years  had  something.  God 
had  sent  priests  and  kings  and  prophets,  pleading 
with  them  in  every  form,  and  doing  everything  for 


them,  and  set  His  worship  among  them,  and  giving       h^ 
them  all  blessings.     If  they  had  been  faithful  and       ^ 
fruitful,  what  a  wonderful  world  it  would  have  been  I  j  )^f*^ 

But  now  he  says,  "  I,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord." 
When  did  he  become  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord  for  the 
Gentiles  ?  When  he  began  to  make  his  plea  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  told  how  the  Lord  had  met  him  in  the 
way,  and  how  the  light  had  shone  about  him,  brighter 
than  the  noonday,  and  that  the  voice  came  from  Him 
that  was  above,  and  said,  "I  will  send  you  to  the 
Gentiles."  At  that  word  ''  Gentiles  "  the  whole  com- 
pany was  in  an  uproar.  They  said,  "Away  with 
such  a  man  !"  "He  is  not  fit  to  live!"  There  is 
something  peculiar  about  this.  Israel  were  to  be 
blessed  on  purpose  to  give  to  the  Gentiles ;  and  it 
will  be  yet.  But  here  the  moment  came  which  was  ' 
their  chance.  They  ought  to  have  sprung  to  the 
front  with  that  very  thought.    It  would  have  been 

79 


repentance  just  to  have  taken  up  that,  because  the 
Gentiles  would  be  blessed  by  Israel.  But  that  was 
just  the  moment  when  it  turned  the  other  way. 

J     Hence,  you  see,  he  was  a  prisoner  for  the  sake  of 
the  Gentiles.    You  and  I  ought  to  feel  that.    What 

I  we  get  comes  out  of  the  prison-house.     For  that 

}j  cause  he  was  sent  there. 

Ver.  2.  "If  ye  have  heard  of  the  dispensation  of 

!  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  me  to  you-ward." 
It  took  in  the  Jew  too.  But  the  Gentile  might  step 
forward  and  say,  "It  is  especially  for  me,  because 
the  JeTvs  have  had  their  chance."  O,  brethren,  you 
know  the  reason  !  You  know  Chap.  ii.  told  us  the 
whole  reason  when  it  said,  "  You  were  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins."  It  was  the  time  alone  when  God 
could  come  out  and  do  this  great  thing,  when  man 
had  sunk  so  low.  His  part  was  that  he  had  sunk 
down  to  the  lowest  possible  place,  and  God  must  go 
down  and  bring  him  out  of  this.  This  was  the  room 
and  scope  for  God,  the  occasion  for  all  that  He 
did. 

Vers.  3,  4.  "How  that  by  revelation  He  made 
known  to  me  the  mystery,  as  I  wrote  afore  in  few 
words  ;  whereby,  when  ye  read,  ye  may  understand 
my  knowledge  in  the  mystery  of  Christ."  If  Peter 
could  say  in  Acts  ii.,  "We  were  witnesses  of  these 
things,  and  heard  from  His  own  lips ; "  we  can  see 
how  Paul  could  say,  "  I  have  seen  the  Lord,  too,  and 
this  is  the  thing  that  I  have  heard.  It  is  made  known 
by  revelation."  Do  you  not  see  why  in  Chap.  i.  he 
prayed  that  we  might  have  the  spirit  of  revelation, 
to  take  it  all  in  ?  Of  course  you  learn  in  Chap.  i. 
how  your  preparation  was,  that  when  you  heard  the 
word  of  your  salvation  you  received  the  Holy  Spirit, 
making  the  heart  hold  it  now  as  a  reality,  to  be 
entered  upon  directly. 
Then  a  little  parenthesis  here.    Ver.  5  :  "  Which 

ao 


in  other  ages  was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons  of 
men,  as  it  is  now  revealed  unto  His  holy  apostles 
and  prophets  by  the  Spirit."    That  tells  us  the  whole 
thing.     It  would  be  folly  for  us  to  hunt  the  church ; 
in  the  Old  Testament.     Moses  nowhere  could  tell*  of  I 
it,  because  he  learned  about  the  earth.     Prophets! 
came  in  to  take  up  what  Moses  had  told,  and  after ' 
Israel  had  failed  utterly,  to  say,  "  It  shall  still  come ;"  ' 
but  never  up  in  heaven.    It  is  a  mistake  to  quote  the 
prophecies  with  reference  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
ch^TcETTfor  they  have  not  a  particle  of  church  in 
them.     How  do  we  know?    Because  it  says  it  was 
not  made  known  in  other  ages.    It  is  a  unique  thing, 
anS  standing  out  alone.     TheT)hing  that  is  formed  is 
just  held  up  above  everything ;   God's  own  poem. 
We  are  His  workmanship.     Created  in  Christ  Jesus 
unto  good  works,  which  were  appointed  before  there 
was  ever  a  man  on  the  earth ;  before  there  was  an 
earth  to  have  a  man  on  it ;  before  the  foundation  of 
the  ages.     So  God  had  this  in  His  thought,  and  you, 
see  when  it  comes  out — after  the  cross.     The  cross  is 
the  end  of  man  and  of  all  dispensations.  All  attempts 
to  correct  man  failed,  and  this  is  the  end  of  the  whole 
thing.     Hence,  from  the  cross,  man  is  under  con- 
demnation ;  not  on  probation  at  all.     God  is  doing 
nothing  to  try  if  man  will  be  good.    Then  is  the  time, 
when  man  is  under  the  curse,  for  God  to  come  in 
with  His  Christ,  and  in  us  to  show  the  exceeding 
riches  of  His  grace. 

If  Israel  is  the  light  of  the  world,  we  are  going  to 
be  the  light  of  all  tEe  ages  and  all  the  highest  places 
— the  very  heavens ;  the  testimony  of  God's  mind, 
richer  than  the  scope  of  the  prophecies  and  Moses 
added  together. 

Now  it  was  not  made  known  to  other  ages  and 
generations.  Moses  could  say,  "It  is  not  in  rae;": 
Isaiah  could  say,  "It  is  not  in  me;"  Daniel  closed) 

81 


up  his  book  and  went  and  searched.    "  The  prophets 

searched  diligently."    Daniel  was  told  to  shut  it  up  ; 

but  now  everything  is  open  ;  the  open  heavens  and 

the  open  heart  of   God,  and  everything  revealed. 

The  result  is  according  to  what  we  had  in  Chap.  i. 

;  8,  9  :   *'  He  has  made  known  to  us  the  m^rstery." 

I  That  is  what  Paul  means  by  saying  what  he  said 

j  before  in  few  words. 

Now  everything  that  we  have  thus  far  had  in  this 
epistle  needs  this  ;  needs  it  as  that  which  shall  hold 
them  all  together ;  as  that  which  shall  really  bring 
them  up  into  prominence  of  meaning;  that  which 
shall  commend  them  to  our  attention. 

Ver.  6.  "  That  the  Gentiles  should  be  fellow-heirs, 
and  of  the  same  body,  and  partakers  of  His  promise 
in  Christ  by  the  gospel."  This  verse,  then,  tells  us 
what  it  is.  Let  us  look  at  these  things  carefully. 
Co-heirs, — it  is  a  little  more  than  fellow-heirs.  It  is 
equal.  You  cannot  find  that  in  the  Old  Testament. 
All  that  is  said  about  the  Gentiles  being  blessed  is 
with  reference  to  Israel  getting  their  place.  The 
Syrophenician  woman  accepted  the  place  of  a  dog, 
and  she  was  right.  The  Gentiles  are  not  equal  heirs 
with  Israel  in  any  of  the  promises  of  the  prophecies. 
We  had  it  in  the  second  chapter.  "  You  were  stran- 
gers from  the  covenants  of  promise."  He  did  not 
say  to  Gentiles,  "If  you  do  so  and  so."  He  did  not 
call  back  anything  that  He  had  promised  in  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  or  Jacob.  His  word  in  Rom.  xi.  is  that 
Israel  is  beloved  for  the  fathers'  sakes.  And  coming 
down  to  David,  we  learn  nothing  about  our  being 
beloved  for  the  fathers'  sake.  The  Gentiles  have  no 
^  standing  in  the  case.  They  shall  come  in  as  tribu- 
tary to  Israel,  when  they- shall  be  established  in  their 
■land,  to  be  the  centre  of  everything,  and  giving  out 
\[the  word  of  God.  The  Gentiles  will  receive  it  from 
I' them.     It  is  a  secondary  place,  and  none  can  fipd 

83 


v^ 


anything  better  in  any  of  the  prophecies,  though 
you  search  diligently. 

*' Co-heirs"  is  the  first  thing.  Second,  *' Co-mem- 
bers of  His  body."  Suppose  I  say  that  Israel  and 
the  Gentiles  are  to  be  heirs  of  the  blessing.  It  would 
not  be  heirs,  either.  Heirship  involves  previous  rela- 
tionship. Israel  were  related,  and  these  should  be 
co-recipients  of  blessing,  but  here  it  tells  us  some- 
thing infinitely  beyond  that—'*  members  of  the  same 
body."  We  saw  that  in  the  preceding  chapter ;  the 
middle  wall  of  partition  being  broken  down;  all 
made  one  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Then,  it  is  heavenly,  of  course,  because  they  are 
not  both  one  on  the  earth,  and  never  will  be.  It  is 
members  of  the  same  body ;  having  equal  place  ^  A 
and  equal  rights  and  equal  position.  TeU  me  what^  ^-^^ ' 
you  find  in  the  Old  Testament  that  gives  the  Jew 
any  blessing  now  ?  Nobody  can  find  any  blessing 
for  the  Jew  to-day,  as  such.  They  have  not  a  word 
of  blessing  in  their  synagogues  to-day.  The  syna- 
gogue is  of  no  account,  anyway.  The  Jew  is  only! 
blessed  when  he  is  in  his  land.  The  synagogue  now 
is  a  mere  meeting  by  their  own  will.  The  Jew  Jhas 
no  standing  to-day.  He  is  kept,  but  he  has  no  stand- 
ing. If  the  purpose  of  God  was  limited  to  Israel  and 
the  Jew,  he  has  ceased  altogether  for  the  present. 
There  have  been  eighteen  hundred  years  in  which 
the  Jew,  as  such,  has  not  been  touched.  There  are 
hundreds  of  blessings  promised  in  the  prophets,  but 
they  are  unfulfilled,  The  pledge  is  there,  because 
Christ  died  and  rose.  The  sufferings  of  Christ  are 
to  be  followed  by  the  glories.  The  sufferings  being 
literal,  the  glories  must  be  literal. 

You  have  no  thought,  in  the  Old  Testament,  of  the 
Jew  being  of  the  same  body,  but  here  we  get  it.  We 
are  told  what  that  body  is  in  the  end  of  Chap.  i.  He 
has  raised  Christ  and  seated  Him  above  principali- 


1#- 


ties  and  powers,  and  made  Him  to  be  Head  over  all 

.  things.     Israel  will  come  into  their  land  and  Christ 

\  will  bo  over  them,  and  over  the  other  Gentiles,  but 

He  is  Head  to  the  church.     The  church  through  all 

i  has  its  definite  place. 

The  third  thing  is,  *' partakers  of  His  promise  in 
Christ  by  the  gospel."  In  Christ,  not  under  Christ. 
What  is  our  place  ?  "Partakers  of  His  promise  in 
Christ."  You  see  the  elevation  of  tone  and  the  char- 
acter and  the  exceeding  sweetness  of  it  all.  Surely 
this  fastens  upon  us  what  we  have  had  in  the  former 
chapters,  told  in  a  few  words  there,  and  enlarged  on 
here.     The  church  of  the  living  God  belongs  in  the 

j^  ^  heavens.  It  is  composed  of  Jew  and  Gentile,  made 
new,  that  have  been  dead  and  risen,  and  that  Christ 
is  the  Head,  and  they  are  to  be  with  Him  in  the  glory, 
and  associated  with  Him  in  everything,  and  never 
under  Him  as  subjects.  They  come  with  Him  and 
reign  over  subjects,  but  they  are  in  Him.  This 
verse  contains^^LiTEKis,  and  it  was  never  told  before, 
but  given  to  Paul  by  revelation. 

Ver.  7.  **  Whereof  I  was  made  a  minister,  accord- 
ing to  the  gift  of  the  grace  of  God  given  unto  me  by 
the  effectual  working  of  His  power."  We  might  go 
back  and  get  the  history  of  that  in  Acts  ix.  Saul, 
exceedingly  mad  against  those  that  were  believing 
in  Christ,  had  taken  out  a  commission  from  the  high 
priest  to  go  and  do  what  he  could  to  stop  the  whole 
.     matter  of  preaching  Jesus  risen.     And  just  before 

^-";  he  entered  into  Damascus  he  saw  that  light  up  in 
'heaven  and  Christ  up  there,  but  he  did  not  know 
j^^Liniy  and  he  said,  "Who  art  thou.  Lord  ?"  and  was 
answered,  "I  am  Jesus,  whom  thou  persecutest ! " 
Would  you  have  understood  that  ?  Would  he  ?  No. 
It  was  a  most  remarkable  phrase.  How  could  he 
persecute  Him  up  in  heaven  ?  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
given  to  him.     You  know  Ananias  visits  him,  and 

84 


now  what  ?  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  only  One  by 
whom  we  understand  anything.  To  Saul  is  given 
that  one  statement,  **You  are  persecuting  me!""^ 
The  Holy  Spirit  makes  this  clear  to  him  that  he  is 
hurting  Christ  by  hurting  any  of  His  that  are  down 
here.  What  is  it  but  the  germ  of  the  one  body  ?  So  i 
Christ  says,  "You  hurt  me."  It  is  membership  of 
His  body.  If  you  were  to  tread  on  my  toe  or  pinch 
my  finger,  I  should  say,  "You  hurt  me  /" 

Moreover,  He  was  up  there,  and  Paul  got  the  fact 
of  His  being  up  there.  That  is  the  place.  Then  he 
learned  what  He  at  once  said  ip  Ver.  20  of  that  chap- 
ter, that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  you  know  from 
Matt.  xvi.  this  is  the  rock  on  which  the  church  is  to 
be  built.  It  is  church  truih,  then,  with  Paul.  It  is 
heavenly  places  and  not  earthly,  and  the  Son  of 
God  up  there  is  everything ;  and  we  are  His  mem- 
bers. 

Then  we  have  the  third  thing — "  partakers  of  His 
promise  in  Christ."  All  the  Old  Testament  promises 
were  under  Christ ;  this  goes  beyond,  for  it  is  in 
Christ.  Do  you  see  what  that  power  was  ?  It  was 
an  immense  thing  for  Paul  to  be  stricken  down  in 
his  religiousness ;  to  have  been  smitten  to  the  ground, 
and  to  become  as  a  dead  man,  and  then  to  rise  a  new 
man,  with  other  thoughts.  That  was  the  working 
of  the  mighty  power.  I  know  not  any  other  occa- 
sions wherein  the  Lord  may  have  told  him,  but 
certainly  he  got  that  here.  It  was  wonderful  grace, 
was  it  not  ?  Instead  of  actually  killing  him,  He  had 
him  rise,  a  new  man.  It  was  all  grace,  all  light,  all 
peace,  up  there,  and  this  poor  heart,  full  of  hate,  is 
met  and  conquered  forever.  He  may  well  say,  "  By 
the  ejffectual  working  of  His  power!"  "By  the 
grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am."  And  what  a  won- 
derful thing  he  received  by  it,  a  revelation  with 
these  three  statements,  co-heirship,  co-membership 

85 


of  Christ,  and  co-partakers  of  promises  in  Christ,  of 
Jews  and  Gentiles. 

Ver.  8.  "  Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of 
all  saints,  is  this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach 
among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ."  Of  course  Paul  felt  the  fact  that  he  had 
been  called,  as  he  said,  **as  one  born  out  of  due 
time,"  as  not  worthy  to  be  named  among  those  that 
he  had  been  persecuting.  He  gives  it  all  in  3  Timothy, 
in  that  form  ;  because  he  had  persecuted  the  church 
of  God. 

And  then  the  wondrous  weight  of  truth  must  nec- 
essarily humble  a  ma^h,  and  this  would  account  for 
this  expression,  "less  than  the  least  of  all  saints," 
because  here  is  something  that  no  saint's  heart  can 
hold  unhelped.  He  was  taken  up  in  the  midst  of  his 
hatred  to  Christ,  and  at  once  shown  the  Lord  Jesus 
in  the  glory.  It  was  even  beyond  what  Stephen 
saw.  He  saw  Jesus  standing  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  but  Paul  saw  him  in  another  title.  Not  the  One 
that  would  come  down  and  reign  over  Israel,  but 
now  seated  with  Him  in  the  glory.  All  titles  are 
now  made  good  to  Him  of  Lord  and  Christ  and  the 
Son  of  God,  and  hence  it  is  that  Paul  began  his  min- 
istry with  that  utterance  of  "Jesus  is  the  Son  of 
God." 

You  remember  in  Isaiah  vi.  how  the  prophet  be- 
holding the  glory  and  the  seraphim  there,  crying. 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Jehovah  of  hosts,  was  him- 
self humbled,  and  made  to  think  of  himself  as  a 
man  of  unclean  lips.  It  was  the  glory  that  just  re- 
duced him  to  nothingness.  And  it  is  thus  always. 
Instead  of  being  lifted  up  with  pride,  one  is  all 
broken  to  see  the  immensity  of  the  revelation  that  is 
given  of  Christ  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God.  I  am 
quite  sure  that  we  could  enter  into  fellowship  with 
Paul,  as  we  have  gone  along  here,  in  the  abundance 

86 


of  the  revelation.  And  we  are  not  to  hold  back 
from  it.  I  have  no  fellowship  with  those  that  speak 
about  having  such  an  overpowering  sensation  that 
they  say  to  the  Lord,  "Withdraw  thine  hand  T' 
The  Holy  Spirit  strengthens  for  all  these  things. 

When  an  infant  comes  into  the  race  of  man  I 
could  say  of  him  that  the  possibilities  of  all  the 
highest  things  on  earth  are  his.  He  may  be  one  of 
the  finest  in  philosophy  and  art  and  science,  and 
write  the  best  books,  but  he  is  a  babe.  They  belong 
to  him,  if  he  can  reach  them.  They  belong  to  him 
on  the  earth  into  which  he  has  come.  And  so,  no 
matter  how  feeble  we  are,  we  are  introduced  into 
Christ — born  of  God.  We  are  simply  in  our  native 
element  when  we  are  listening  to  these  very  highest 
and  richest  and  most  precious  things  of  God. 

One  of  the  quietest  books  in  the  world  is  the  Scrip- 
ture. But  somehow,  in  Ephes.  it  has  to  add  on,  has 
to  double  adjectives,  while  simple  statements  are  the 
ordinary  forms  of  Scripture.  But  this  abundance  of 
revelation  does  make  the  Scripture  come  to  our 
understanding  by  telling  us  large  things.  So  the 
epistles  are  filled  with  this  exceeding  greatness  of 
the  glory.  To  this  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints 
was  this  wonderful  dispensation  given ;  a  special 
one ;  not  in  common  with  the  Twelve,  any  more  than 
with  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  was 
given  to  him  alone.  And  so  much  the  more  was  he 
bound  to  tell  everybody.  It  was  the  one  truth  that 
was  to  go  out  into  all  the  world.  By-and-by,  when 
this  people  that  are  formed  by  this  truth  that  Paul 
received,  are  caught  up,  and  God  comes  back  to 
make  His  name  as  the  God  of  Israel,  there  will  be  a 
gospel  of  the  kingdom  that  will  go  abroad  every- 
where, as  a  testimony  in  all  the  world.  But  there  is 
now  a  gospel  that  is  an  "all  the  world"  gospel,  dis- ; 
tinctively.     (Col.  i.  21.)    It  is  the  delight  of  all  this,  ' 

87 


that  it  is  not  for  a  few,  though,  unfortunately,   it 
gathers  but  few.   But  this  has  to  go  everywhere,  and 
the  reason  of  it  is  that  God  is  perfectly  satisfied  with 
what  Christ  has  done.     The  whole  question  of  sin 
and  guilt  and  ruin  is  met  perfectly  in  Him.    His  Son 
is  to  be  presented,  and  that  must  be  told.      He  is 
making  a  feast  for  His  Son,  and  He  must  tell  every- 
body. 
*j  I     This,  then,  is  the  gospel  of  Paul — the  Person  of 
'  the  Son  of  God,  all  the  work  that  He  has  done  and 
all  the  glory  that  He  has  won.     That  is  to  be  told 
out.     And  we  who  have  to  do  with  Him  are  to  learn 
'  it  all,  everything  ! 

Now  he  tells  us  that  this  is  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  That  would  be  quite  the  word,  after  telling 
us  that  these  things  were  not  made  known  to  other 
ages  and  generations.     All  that  he  is  telling  out 
never  was  upon  the  lip  of  prophet  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment,  nor    even    in    the    heart   and   mind    of   the 
Twelve.     There  never  had  been  an  utterance  given 
of  this  new  wondrous  truth  of  the  heavenly  places, 
^      and  Christ  in  the  glory.     It  is  unsearchable,  then. 
jy^  You  need   not  search  the  teachings  of  Peter  and 
-"    James  and  John  and  the  Twelve,  in  the  beginning  of 
,#-'    Acts.     You  need  not  search  through  Isaiah,  for  that 
is  all  of  earthly  glory.     And  so  all  the  Old  Testa- 
.  ment — search  it  as  you  will, — will  yield  up  nothing 
1  of  this  heavenly  truth.     Man  by  -searching  cannot 
find  out  God.      "  The  world  by  wisdom  knew  not 
God."  And  yet  God  comes  and  reveals  Himself,  and 
we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  God,  and  brought 
right  to  Him  and  in  His  presence,  and  enter  into  the 
holiest  through  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  worship  be- 
fore God  Himself,  and  know  Him  ! 

But  if  searching  will  do  nothing,  what  will  ?  The 
Spirit  of  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  Him  ;  just 
being  open,  to  let  Him  tell  us  what  He  will.     And 

88 


Paul  received  it  that  he  might  tell  it.  And  it  is  now 
the  universal  gospel.  I  sorrow  that  it  has  been 
lost,  but  God  in  grace  revives  it,  or  else  we  would 
not  talk  about  it  to-day. 

Here  again  we  must  notice  the  distinction  between 
the  gospel  of  the  Twelve  and  the  gospel  of  Paul. 
John  XV.  tells  us  definitely.     *'  You  shall  testify  of 
me,  because  you  have  been  with  me  from  the  begin- 
ning."    In  pursuance  of  that,  Matthias  is  the  one 
that  takes  the  place  of  Judas,  because  he  had  been 
with  Jesus  from  the  beginning  of  His  ministry,  un- 
til the  day  that  He  was  taken  up.   Then  the  prophecy-  \\y^ 
of  Joel  was  to  be  fulfilled,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  to  \         Ji^ 
be  poured  out  upon  them,  and  then  they  began  to  j  (^' 
tell  Israel,  "He  will  come  to  reign  over  you."    But  *a^^ 
they  did  not  utter  a  word  that  Paul  gives,  in  all  that  ^  *  .     (?J 
they  said.    Now  Paul  comes  where  they  leave  off,  as  j   '  **^.  ' 
they  come  where  John  the  Baptist  leaves  off,  and' ;  . /^** 
John  the  Baptist  comes  where  the  prophets  left  off ;    i 
each  telling  their*  gospel ;  their  good  news.     The 
prophets  exceeding  the  priests  in  telling  the  good  ^^^^^ 
news  that  they  had.     John  comes  and  says,  ''It  is  ^j^t^ 

ready  to  come  now !"    and  that  is  a  new  gospel.  A/'^    - 
And  after  Christ  has   come,   and    been  slain,  the  ^,f^T^ 
Twelve  say,  ''But  He  will  come  back,  and  you  will  ,      "jj 
have  an  earthly  kingdom  yet !"    Now  this  would  all  j,^'*'*^ 
be  true,  but  now  I  see  that  we  come  into  a  higher 
place  altogether.     And  so  Paul  says,  "  I  will  tell  you  ] 
about  Him  up  yonder."     The  Twelve  simply  have  ' 
what  was  in  the  prophets,  and  the  accomplishment : 
of  it  that  day.     That  is  the  thing  that  corresponds  to ' 
what  we  have  in  Col.  i.  23,  where  Paul  speaks  of  the 
gospel  of  which  he  is  the  minister.     "If  you  con- 
tinue in  the  faith,  grounded  and  settled,  and  be  not 
moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the  gospel  which  is 
preached  in  all  the  world,  which  you  have  received, 
whereof  I  am  made  a  minister."    And  then,  after  he 

89 


has  told  that,  a  second  thing  is  given  in  Ver.  S5.  He 
completed  the  word  of  God  and  filled  up  that  which 
was  behind  in  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  his  own 
body,  for  Christ's  body,  which  is  the  church, 
"whereof  I  am  made  a  minister." 

Paul  must  be  like  Moses.  Moses  goes  to  Egypt 
and  calls  out  Israel,  and  after  he  gets  them  out  he 
must  form  them.  He  must  give  them  laws,  and  di- 
vide them  into  their  tribes.  He  must  arrange  their 
marching  order,  and  just  how  they  shall  build  the 
tabernacle.  That  is  more  than  calling  them  out. 
He  must  accompany  them. 

And  so  Paul  must  do  two  things  :  he  must  give  the 
gospel  of  the  calling  on  high — which  is  the  gospel  of 
the  power  of  God, — which  is  the  gospel  of  the  glory. 
He  must  do  that,  and  then  he  that  believes  gets  all 
the  assurances  that  are  given  in  that  gospel.  He 
knows  he  is  saved.  The  assurance  of  the  hope — he 
knows  what  he  is  saved  for.  The  assurance  of  the 
understanding  of  this  mystery  of  being  seated  in 
heavenly  places.  All  three  things  are  spoken  of  by 
him.  Now  he  must  give  the  administration,  *'to 
make  all  know  what  is  the  administration  of  that 
mystery."  Like  Moses  arranging  everything  accord- 
ing to  God's  mind,  Paul  himself  arranged  the  church, 
as  well  as  formed  it  by  preaching.  It  corresponds 
exactly  to  what  is  spoken  of  in  Col.  i.  23-25.  He  is 
the  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  then  the  minister  of 
the  church,  which  is  formed  by  that  gospel. 

So  you  will  understand  the  meaning  of  Ver.  9. 
''  And  to  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  fellowship  of 
the  mystery,  which  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
hath  been  hid  in  God,  who  created  all   things  by 

^j^is^\  Jesus  Christ."    That  is,  all  that  are  saved,  because 
^^^ ,  ,there  is  not  a  syllable  of  what  Paul  gives  that  can  be 

**     ^^*'  (Understood  by  an  unsaved  man.     *'  The  natural  man 
ireceiveth  not  the  things  of  God,  because  they  are 

90 


♦• 


V 


spiritually  discerned;"  that  is  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  is  in  us.  Not  that  we  have  received  a  fine 
clear  intellect,  but  we  have  received  the  Holy  Spirit 
that  we  may  know.  These  things  are  discerned  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  us  and  not  by  our  simple  intelli- 
gence. So  it  is  not  to  make  all  men  see,  but  to  make  | 
all  the  saints  see  what  is  the  administration  of  the  { 
mystery. 

**  Which  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  hath 
been  hid  in  God."  We  find  from  this  verse  the 
reason  why  it  is  unsearchable.  It  was  hid  in  God.  |  yj^  k 
If  it  had  been  hidden  in  the  Scriptures,  we  could  goj  -Ij  ^ 
back  and  search  and  find  it.  But  it  was  hidden  ind,^^^^  ^^ 
God  up  to  the  time  of  Paul.  Now  it  is  no  longeiv,  jMljtv 
hidden.     And  then  it  is  spiritually  discerned.  <J<>^/ 

You  see  what  the  fellowship  or  administration  re- 
fers to,  then,  the  practical  carrying  out  of  the  truth 
of  what  the  church  is,  and  what  it  shall  be  and  do. 
According  to  the  mind  of  God,  then,  the  thing  was 
hidden  in  God,  who  created  all  things  in  Jesus 
Christ. 

Ver.  10.  *'  To  the  intent  that  now  unto  the  princi- 
palities and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be 
known  by  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God." 
We  see  the  reason  of  this  word  *' manifold" — that 
there  are  a  great  many  things  connected  with  this 
creation.     Various  dispensations  came,  each  with  its  ^J 

own  specified  truth.     For  instance  :   from  Adam  to  / 
Noah  it  is  simply  man ;  man  without  government ; 
man  left  alone.      Of  course  it  is  ruin.      He^tarts 


.:? 


ruined  as  soon  as  he  sins,  and  he  goes  on  as  man      >« 
without  any  law  among  men,  and  is  left  just  as  the    ^  4^ 
beasts  of  the  field  are  left,  and  the  result  is  that  they  l'^ 
become  corrupt  and  violent.     Then  from  N  oah  down 
to  Abraham  man  has  government.     This  is  a  new 
element  in    connection    with  creation.      But    manj 
ever  falls  and  gets  away  from  God.    If  he  is  going  to 

n 


govern  himself,  he  hunts  up  other  gods  and  be- 
comes an  idolater.  That  is  what  government  in 
man's  hands  will  lead  to  always.  It  will  lead  away 
from  God,  and  that  is  what  the  dispensation  begun 
with  Noah  comes  to. 

Then  Abraham  is  called  out  apart  from  dll  that, 
and  God  revealed  Himself  to  him,  not  as  connected 
with  the  heavenly  thing,  but  revealing  Himself  still, 
and  saying  *'  This  la^d."    It  is  with  reference  to  the 
•^v*'^    land.     He  is  to  be  a  stranger  to  it,  that  he  may  first 
get  acquainted  with  God.     Man  must  get  back  to 
God  before  he  can  take  up  the  earth  at  all.     There- 
fore it  is  four  hundred  years  before  man  is  allowed 
H        to  take  possession  of  the  earth  at  all.     God  knows 
^^  ^    Abraham,  and  He  now  passes  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
^         Jacob  through  a  school  to  get  them  acquainted  with 
Himself,  and  then  He  takes  up  Israel,  and  puts  them 
through  forty  years  of  schooling  to  get  them  ac- 
quainted with  Him.     They  are  particularly  shut  up 
with  Him,  that  they  may  all  the  time  be  occupied 
with  God  before  they  can  ever  take  up  earth  again. 
Then    He   brings    them   through    all    the    various 
methods  of  school  and  into  the  land,  and  says,  **  Now 
I  occupy  it,  and  drive  out  everything  else." 

The  creation  combined  a  great  many  other  matters. 
Man  simply  being  put  on  the  earth  and  dwelling,  and 
man  in  government.      He  has  learned  subjection. 
Subjection  is  the  first  lesson   in  government.      So 
with  the  church ;  we  are  in  subjection,  and  await  the 
time  to  govern.     The  old  creation  has  its  varied  ele- 
.'ments  there.     Step  by  step  all  these  things  come, 
rand  thus  we  see  that  God  was  just  mapping  out  for 
*'man  according  to  the  ages.     And  now  Israel  having 
failed  utterly,  God  leaves  the  church  here  for  a  testi- 
mony to  the  heavens,  not  the  earth,  of  His  many- 
sided  wisdom.      Why  should  He  show  the  earth  ? 
They  are  Jews  and  Gentiles  from  whom  He  takes 

93 


out  the  church,  and  they  could  not  understand  and 
they  are  left. 

Ver.  11.  ^^  According  to  the  eternal  purpose  which 
He  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  '' Eternal f 
purpose"  is  the  **plan  of  the  ages."  All  those  agesj 
He  was  having  this  one  purpose  before  Him,  and' 
what  was  it  ?  To  display  in  the  ages  to  come  His 
kindness  towards  us,  and  to  display  now,  by  lifting 
us  above  the  earth.  His  wisdom.  The  church  then  is 
to  display  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  according  to 
His  mind.  Not  this  terribly  apostate  thing,  that  for 
fifteen  hundred  years  has  not  had  a  thought  of  God's 
mind  in  it !  It  makes  the  enemies  of  God  to  blas- 
pheme. Not  that  of  which  Christ  says,  "  I  will  spew 
you  out  of  my  mouth  !"  But  the  church  as  set  forth 
in  th'e  Scripture  is  to  display  His  manifold  wisdom, 
and  it  will  if  it  is  subject  to  the  word  in  regard  to  it. 
There  is  a  wisdom  that  He  had  in  His  Christ,  and 
there  was  the  wisdom  that  He  had  in  the  first  crea- 
tion. There  is  a  wisdom  that  comes  out  in  each  one 
of  them.  In  Israel  He  is  showing  out  man  in  ser- 
vice. **  Israel  is  my  servant!"  and  that  is  another 
element.  First,  man  simply  runs  loose,  and  then 
man  in  government,  and  then  man  as  a  servant. 

He  shows  His  wisdom  in  gathering  up  the  ele- 
ments. The  church  will  stand  as  a  unique  thing,  as 
clear  as  a  diamond,  and  it  contains  the  thoughts  of 
God,  that  were  given  from  the  beginning  all  the  way 
through,  and  the  church,  as  such,  was  hidden  in 
God.  But  now  He  is  bringing  it  out  according  to  the 
purpose  of  the  ages.  That  is  what  His  purpose  is. 
Israel  was  intensely  bad  all  the  way  through  their 
history,  but  there  came  a  time  when  the  original 
plan  given  to  Moses,  after  hundreds  of  years,  is 
brought  to  the  eyes  of  J osiah,  a  little  child  on  the 
throne.  _  Now  1l3,  seeing  all  that  was  given  hun- 
dreds of  years  before,  and  seeing  the  condition  then, 

93 


^ 

n 


breaks  dowu  before  God  and  takes  his  place  accord- 
ing to  Moses,  so  that  he  had  a  standing  with  God. 
And  for  a  little  while  they  had  things  according  to 
the  purpose  of  God  ;  but  it  could  not  be  carried  out, 
because  all  Israel  were  not  there.   And,  then,  it  could 
not  be  done.     Now  the  church  is  called  out  for  a 
special  purpose,  to  show  the  wisdom  of  God.    It  is 
not  to  show  it  to  the  world.     The  trouble  is  that  the 
I  church  is  turned  up-side -down.      It  has  become  a 
I  part  and  parcel  with  the  world,  and  showing  itself 
f  to  the  world.     It  gets  to  be  a  thing  talked  of.    In 
i)  countries  like  England  and  Germany  and  Italy  eccle- 
\siastical  affairs  have  to  be  represented  in  their  parlia- 
i  ments.     In  this  country  it  is  not  quite  like  that,  but 
it  is  brought  into  prominence  as  much  as  burglaries 
^^  and  murders,  etc.     It  is  a  matter  of  daily  history. 
^  *^^    '■  Now  the  church  is  really,  in  principle,  invisible.   "  Be- 
^      ^4^  hold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed 
^^       •  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  the  children  of 
!».»**'       God  :  and  such  we  are.     For  this  cause  the  world 
knoweth  us  not,  because  it  knew  Him  not."    It  is 
not  to  make  a  display  to  the  world  now,  but  making 
a  display  to  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly 
places.   The  testimony  of  the  church  is  heavenward. 
In  Chap.  ii.  we  had  that  the  testimony  of  the  church 
for  the  future  ages  is  to  be  earthward.     Now  in  di- 
rect contrast  to  that,  to  show  the  manifold  wisdom 
to  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places, 
according  to  the  plan  that  He  had  in  His  mind  all 
the  way  through.    At  last  He  gets  the  people,  but 
at  last,  having  them,  they  fail  more  than  any  other 
have  failed.     They  had  the  highest  place,  but  fell 
from  it. 

God's  plan  through  the  ages  was  to  exalt  Christ. 
He  put  us  into  Christ,  to  make  known  through  us  his 
manifold  wisdom  during  the  present  interval.  All 
this  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  in  whona  w^  hav^ 

94 


boldness  (both  Jew  and  Gentile)  and  access  in  Him 
by  the  Spirit  unto  the  Father,  and  now  here  it  is 
again. 

Ver.  12.  "  In  whom  we  have  boldness  and  access 
with  confidence  by  the  faith  of  Him."  '*  The  faith 
of  Him  "  means  the  principle  of  faith,  the  ground  of 
faith ;  the  objective  matter  of  faith  and  not  subjec- 
tive. He  is  speaking  of  the  dispensational  character, 
and  it  is  on  the  principle  of  faith.  Whenever  we  see 
"the  faith  of  Christ"  or  "the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God,"  we  may  know  that  is  what  it  means.  It  is  not 
a  question  of  our  faith  but  of  the  fact  of  faith. 
Why  does  he  bring  in  the  access,  then,  when  it  was 
all  settled  at  the  end  of  Chap.  ii.  ?  He  has  been  giv- 
ing us  the  dispensational  facts  that  in  other  ages  this 
was  not  known,  but  in  the  present  age  it  was  re- 
vealed through  him  unto  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
and  then  the  purposes  of  God  all  the  way  through 
with  reference  to  the  present  and  now,  and  linking 
it  with  us,  not  as  simply  dispensational,  but  making 
it  come  home  to  our  hearts.  At  the  end  of  Chap.  i. 
and  the  first  part  of  Chap.  ii.  it  is  looked  at  in  a 
spiritual  way,  and  here  it  comes  back  to  this,  "  In 
whom  we  have  boldness  and  access  with  confidence 
by  the  faith  of  Him."  It  is  to  save  us  from  what 
would  be  simply  theological.  It  is  a  poor  way  to 
look  at  it,  through  theology  simply.  God  never 
gives  it  really  that  way,  and  if  for  a  moment  we 
turn  aside  to  look  at  things  that  way,  Ho  always 
brings  us  back  by  making  us  see  how  it  relates  to  us 
in  our  own  hearts.  We  get  that  as  soon  as  we  get 
the  Person  of  Christ.  Having  said  this,  therefore, 
the  next  is  simply  to  appeal  to  them  in  regard  to  his 
tribulation. 

Ver.  13.  "Wherefore  I  desire  that  you  faint  not 
at  my  tribulation  for  you,  which  is  your  glory." 
This  w£^s  definite  when  we  spoke  of  it  before ;  that 

9^ 


the  tribulation  he  was  suffering  was  because  he 
would  go  to  the  Gentiles  ;  because  he  was  the  apostle 
to  the  Gentiles,  and  because  he  did  go  to  them  to  tell 
them  all  the  truth.  And  this  tribulation  he  was  suf- 
fering from  the  Jews,  who  would  have  killed  him  at 
sight.  Nothing  in  Scripture  shows  the  obduracy  of 
man  more  than  that ;  that  the  very  people  that  were 
appointed  to  give  blessing  to  the  Gentiles  were  ex- 
ceding  mad  against  the  one  who  would  do  it.  He 
was  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision  and  went 
in  accordance  with  it. 

Now  we  come  to  the  close  of  this  wonderful  reve- 
lation of  Chap,  iii.,  which  comes  in  as  a  parenthesis, 
to  enlarge  our  thoughts  and  deepen  our  joy  in  the 
whole  matter.  And  so  rich  was  it  that  it  seemed 
good  to  the  Holy  Spirit  to  have  it  clinched  and 
fastened  to  us  by  praying  with  reference  to  the  full- 
ness of  it. 

There  is  no  richer  utterance  than  prayer  or  praise . 
There  is  an  encouragement  to  tell  all  out,  because  we 
are  in  the  presence  of  God.  In  prayer  we  tell  the 
best  things,  and  so  the  Holy  Spirit  adds  to  this,  as 
though  it  were  insufficient  to  tell  us  the  character  of 
truth  in  this  chapter,  and  it  must  be  closed  up  by 
this  wonderful  prayer,  as  Chap.  i.  was  in  its  state- 
ments. 

Here,  the  prayer  is  to  the  Father.  In  Chap.  i.  it 
was  to  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  we 
are  forecast  into  the  glory  here.  We  have  come  into 
the  deeper  heart  of  God.  What  we  have  now  is  not 
simply  counsels  but  the  counsels  of  His  own  heart, 
and  therefore — 

Ver.  14.  **For  this  cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto 
the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Of  course  we 
must  have  heart  in  this,  not  simply  things  that  are 
for  our  spiritual  intelligence.  Here  we  can  under- 
stand why  it  was  said  *'  That  the  eyes  of  your  heart 

96 


may  be  enlightened."  And  so  in  Romans  it  says, 
"  With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness/* 
So  everything  in  Scripture  is  far  removed  from  cold 
statement,  by  presenting  the  Person  that  takes  hold 
upon  the  heart.  Here  it  is  not  a  creed  but  a  real  life, 
a  living  Person,  and  we,  living  persons.  So,  while 
Christ  was  the  Word,  I  am  to  be  also  the  expression 
of  the  word.  Each  of  us  to  be  but  the  word  of  God 
in  everything ;  the  practical  utterance  of  God.  "  No 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time."  Now  we  are 
down  here  instead  of  Him,  and  we  live  Him,  by 
walk  and  thought  and  utterance  and  by  every  ex- 
pression of  the  new  man.  It  is  the  revelation  of 
God.  God  should  be  seen  in  us  as  He  was  seen  in 
His  own  Son,  for  we,  too,  are  sons. 

This,  then,  becomes  unutterably  precious:  **For 
this  cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  (Ver.  15.)  of  whom  every  family 
in  heaven  and  earth  is  named."  In  Heb.  xii.  we 
have  the  families  of  the  heavenly.  W"e  are  told  that 
we  are  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling,  but  we  are 
also  told  of  others  that  belong  in  the  heavens.  We 
have  come  into  this  company.  We  have  come  to 
Mount  Zion,  to  the  new  Jerusalem,  to  the  city  of  the 
living  God,  the  God  of  resurrection.  It  is  the  same 
word  that  Peter  gave  when  he  said,  ''Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  We  have  come 
into  the  scene  of  the  living  God.  What  company  do 
we  have  then?  ''To  an  innumerable  company  of 
angels— the  general  assembly.  And  then  the  church  I 
of  the  firstborn  ones."  That  is  ourselves,  the  second 
family.  Then,  to  separate  these  from  the  saints  of 
the  Old  Testament,  God's  name  is  introduced — "To 
God,  the  Judge  of  all ;"  showing  that  all  these  saints 
had  passed  the  judgment.  God  is  named  not  as  the 
merciful  One  but  as  the  Judge  of  all.  This  fixes 
everything  all  the  more  securely,  that  He  has  judged 

37 


it.  Then,  "  To  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect.'' 
This  is  looking  at  the  whole  of  the  heavenly  family. 
•,  These  are  the  Old  Testament  believers,  of  which 
f  there  is  a  little  sample  roll  in  Chap.  xi.  When  they 
died,  they  died  without  knowing,  which  was  imper- 
fection ;  but  their  perfection  came  when  Christ  rose. 
They  will  be  there,  with  bodies  like  ours,  when  the 
Lord  comes. 

Then,  **To  Jesus,  the  mediator  of  a  new  covenant, 
and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling  that  speaketh  better 
than  that  of  Abel."  What  a  blessed  word  that  is ! 
The  blood  of  Abel  crying  from  the  ground  against 
man^  and  the  blood  of  Christ  speaking  peace^f or  us^ 
TBus  the  heavenly  f amilies'are  named  all  inclusively, 
and  exclusively  of  everything  else. 

Then  we  come  to  the  earth  ;  and  the  earthly  fami- 
lies when  the  restoration  takes  place  will  be  under 
the  Father.  There  will  be  a  revelation  of  the  Father. 
Christ  began  it  when  he  spoke  in  Matt,  and  gave 
that  wonderful  statement  in  Chaps,  v. — vii.  He 
brought  before  them  the  Father ;  not  Father  as  we 
know  Him,  but  He  was  telling  of  the  Father.  lie 
says,  "Your  Father  in  heaven."  Farther  away  off, 
of  course,  but  still  Father. 

And  so  we  have,  "  Of  whom  every  family  in  heaven 
and  earth  is  named."  Now  the  families  of  the  earth 
merely  Israel  and  the  Gentiles,  and  these  will  be 
through  the  millennium  and  there  will  be  these  dif- 
ferences then.  We  have  this  scene  given  in  Rev. 
xxi.  9,  xxii.  4.  It  is  God  and  the  Lamb.  Giving 
Christ,  as  you  may  see,  separate,  just  as  he  has  been 
separated  down  here  dispensationally.  But  at  the 
end  of  all  He  gives  up  the  kingdom  to  the  Father, 
and  God  is  all.  But  during  the  millennium  the  dis- 
tinctions are  still  held  that  God  has  made  in  relation 
to  His  person.  In  the  eternal  age  there  does  not 
seeni  to  be  the  manifestation  of  th^  F^thar,  Son  and 


Holy  Spirit.    But  God  (the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit)  is  all. 

So  we  see  what  it  means  by  saying,  *' Of  whom 
every  family  on  earth  is  named."   Now  we  will  have 
it  directly  in  the  next  chapter,  when  speaking  of  the 
unity,  "One  Father,  by  whom  and  through  whom 
and  in  whom  we  all  are."    Let  us  pause  a  little  on 
this  matter.     It  is  very  precious  to  think  of  it.     In 
Thess.  i.  1,  the  first  epistle  written  by  this  apostle  of 
the  church  to  the  church,  he  says,  **  The  churchy 
which  is  in  God  our  Father."    JSTot  the  church  which  j 
is  in  God  simply,  but  God  revealed  as  our  Father,  j 
with  a  Father's  heart.     Leave  out  the  idea  of  Father! 
and  you  have  only  God  in  purpose  and  mind,  andi 
revelation  of  the  mind :   but  where  is  the  heart  tl 
Where  is  relationship  ?  Where  is  living  in  and  lean-j 
ing  on  Him,  and  being  in  His  bosom  ?    And  so  thei 
church  had  to  wait  for  its  manifestation  until  God 
was  revealed  as  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.    In  creation  there  was  no  such  revelation. 
In  Noah's  day  there  was  no  such  revelation.     In 
establishing  Israel  there  was  no  such  relationship 
brought  out.    When  John  the  Baptist  came  to  re-f 
store  Israel,  there  was  no  such  relationship  broughtj 
out.     Christ  mentions  the  Father  with  reference  to 
the  future.     And  all  this  revelation  of  God  as  the 
God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  our 
God  and  Father,  waits  the  final  revelation — the  rev- 
elation of  the  church.     So  it  is  the  church  which  is 
in  God  our  Father.     And  so  in  the  full  revelation  of 
Christ— getting  all  his  title  of  ''  Christ "  and  "  Lord," 
and  therefore  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord !    The  church 
iriy  away  back  in  the  beginning,  but  still  all  there,— 
in  God  our  Father  and  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,— 
everyone  in  Him,  and  according  to  Pro  v.  viii.,  the 
object  of  His  delight.     The  Man  Jesus  with  His  title 
made  true  to  Him  of  Lord  and  Christ,  had  to  wait 

99 


y 


,  Until  He  was  risen.     It  had  to  wait  until  He  was  up 
in  the  glory,  and  until  the  Apostle  could  say,  **  He  is 
the  Son  of  God,  who  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David." 
Then  we  have  the  church.     It  is  church  time,  it  is 
J  Son  time,  it  is  making  sons,  it  is  Son  speech. 
^^v       So  all  these  things  are  dispensational.   There  were 
^^      no  sons  in  the  Old  Testament  times.     There  was  no 
^  \  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  them.     There  was  no  form- 
ic ing  into  one  body,  the  church  and  the  risen  Christ, 
^*^    the  first-begotten  from  the  dead.     Now  these  are  the 
,t)-*  "*  things  that  we  range  in  freely,  and  we  must  not  act 
out  of  them.     If  we  run  outside  of  these  bounds, 
where  will  we  go  ?    Into  that  Judaism,  which  was 
,  once  right,  but  is  now  all  wrong  for  us.     We  should^ 
use  care  in  regard  to  speech  about  God,  and  in  ad- 1  \;Jt^ 
"  fjf^  dressing  Him  and  saying.  Lord,  when  we  mean  God  \       *^ 
and  Father.     "  Lord  "  in  the  Old  Testament  is  Jeho-  j  ^ 
vah.    We  could  not  get  a  blessing  there  now.    Those  \ 
who  live  after  the  church  is  taken  away,  the  Jewish 
remnant,  will  get  a  blessing  under  the  title  of  Him  ' 
as  Jehovah.   But  we  cannot  get  a  blessing  there  now 
^"'^    any  more  than  that  woman  that  came  to  Jesus  and 
said  "Son  of  David,"  and  was  turned  away.     But 
when  she  called  Him  Lord,  taking  the  place  of  a 
dog,  it  was  all  right.     *'Be  it  unto  thee  as  thou 
wilt:' 

Paul  was  set  to  tell  of  Christ  Jesus  as  Son  of  God, 
and  his  gospel  was  to  declare  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  So  then,  his  bowing  the  knee 
to  the  Father  is  introducing  our  hearts  into  the  widest 
scope  of  the  present  period. 

According  to  the  titles  of  persons  you  speak  to 
are  the  things  you  speak  about.  An  earthly  people, 
(  speaking  to  God  as  Jehovah,  will  ask  for  earthly 
,  things  as  the  highest,  because  they  belong  to  the 
!  earth.  But  when  we  call  Him  our  God  and  Father, 
,  there  is  nothing  wider  or  deeper  than  that.    That  is 

100 


what  we  have  gained  by  Christ  going  into  the  grave, . 
and  being  raised  and  seated  in  heaven  ;  and  so  let  us ) 
call  Him  such.  '*I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  your 
Father."  So  we  see  how  the  Holy  Spirit,  here,  can/ 
bring  out  that  prayer. 

Ver.  16.    *'  That  He  would  grant  you,  according  to 
the  riches  of   His  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with 
might  by  His  Spirit  in  the  inner  man."    In  Chap.  i. 
we  found  everything  that  is  spoken  of  in  regard  to 
the  present  interval  of  Christ's  being  in  heavenly 
places,  and  our  being  there,  is  to  the  praise  of  His 
glory  and  the  glory  of  His  grace.    We  are  associated 
with  that  and  nothing  else.     And  we  have  no  less 
treasure  to  draw  from  than  the  riches  of  His  glory. 
How  people  do  trifle  with  their  privilege  in  prayer  1 1 
They  pray  for  little  things,  when  they  could  take  the  | 
heavens !    How  they  will  say.  Pray  for  me  in  this  1 
thing  and  that,  instead  of  making  their  prayer  with  I 
regard  to  Ephes.  iii.    It  is  like  what  we  have  in  Phil.  ; 
iv.     The  writer  here,  then  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord, 
when  a  few  little  things  were  sent  unto  him,  to  min- 
ister unto  him,  says,  ''But  my  God  shall  supply  all 
your  need  according  to  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ 
Jesus."    There  is  no  other  standard  for  blessing  us. 
With  my  children  at  home,  that  is  the  highest  stand- 
ard of  all  blessing,  that  they  are  with  me.     The  son 
abides  in  the  house  forever.     I  may  be  kind  to  my 
servants  and  to  my  friends,  but  my  children  are  as 
myself.     They  are  entitled  to  everything  I  have. 

Now  God  has  His  sons  up  there,  and  we  take  hold 
upon  everything.     "  According  to  the  riches  of  His  ' 
glory."    All  that  is  coming !    All  the  display  of  God  \ 
—for  that  is  what  glory  is — the  display  of  character. 
Not  according  to  some  revelation  of  God  simply,  that  " 
He  has  to  supplement  afterwards ;  but  the  full  expan- 
sion of- what  God  is  in  Himself. 

*'  That  He  would  grant  you  according  to  the  riches 

101 


V    tv 


of  His  glory ; "  and  there  must  be  something  very 
wonderful,  if  we  must  be  strengthened  to  take  hold 
of  it.  "  To  be  strengthened  with  might  by  His  Spirit 
in  the  inner  man."  The  Holy  Spirit  within  us  is  com- 
petent to  take  in  everything.  This  is  the  marvelous 
thought,  that  you  and  I  have  God  dwelling  in  us,  to 
measure  the  measureless  in  heaven ;  that  we  are  at 
home  with  and  in  Him ;  that  the  more  simple  we  are, 
the  more  the  Holy  Spirit  is  free  to  act,  and  the  more 
we  need  not  be  astonished  at  anything.  Take  them 
with  the  peace  and  tranquility  that  God  has  in  giving 
them.  We  are  to  be  strengthened  with  might  in  the 
inner  man,  in  order  to  take  in  these  things,  and  to 
live  in  them. 

Ver.  17.  *^That  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts 
by  faith;  that  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love."  It  is  not  simply  that  we  are  believing  in 
Christ,  but  that  Christ  may  dwell.  It  is  not  Christ 
our  hope  up  yonder,  nor  Christ  on  the  cross,  but 
Christ  Himself  dwelling  in  us.  What  a  wonderful 
thing!  The  Holy  Spirit  making  Christ  present  in 
us ;  the  whole  action  of  our  life  !  How  wonderfully 
that  is  brought  out  in  John.  How  we  are  associated 
with  Him  there ;  having  the  same  death  and  the 
same  burial,  the  same  resurrection  and  the  same 
favor,  and  the  same  intercourse  all  the  while ! 
"  That  my  joy  may  be  in  you.  As  my  Father  loved 
me,  I  love  you ;  continue  in  my  love."  In  First 
John  we  are  as  He  is.  We  are  sons  of  God,  and 
this  is  the  style  of  life  that  God  has  to  say,  "  That 
Christ  may  dwell  in  you ;"  your  faith  apprehending 
that. 

Do  not  get  the  thought  that  we  get  things,  and 

that  things  become  true  of  us  by  faith.     Not  at  all ! 

/  The  moment  we  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

!  everything  is  true  of  us  that  will  ever  be  true,  but 

■  we  are  receiving  more  and  more  every  day,  and 

102 


faith  is  the  open  mouth  to  take  it  in.     "  Faith  comes 
hj  hearing,"  and  so  we,  as  children  of  God,  have 
everything  and  know  everything,  and  are  associated 
with  everything  that  God  and  Christ  have,  and  are 
brought  into  practical    fellowship  by  every  day's 
truth  that  we  receive,  taking  in  these  things  more 
and  more.     He  is  in  us  and  we  are  in  Him,  be- 
fore God.     Christ  is  in  us  down  here  for  walk,  and 
to  make  the  life  ;  which  must  be  a  Christ-life  all  the 
way  through.     It  is  occupation  with  Him  that  will  i 
make  it.    We  are  the  same  as  He  is ;   that  is  our/ 
right  and  title.     We  say  there  is  nobody  in  heaven! 
or  earth  that  can  put  us  out  of  our  position,  because 
the  new  birth  meant  that.     This  is  what  it  is  for 
Him  to  dwell  in  your  heart  by  faith.     It  is  dwell,  \ 
too!    In  John  xv.  it  is  '* Abide  in  Him."    That  iaj 
the  practical  thing.     You  are  there,  but  stay  there, 
practically.     We  get  the  meaning  in  this  way  :  we 
are  in  Christ.    Suppose  we  go  back  and  act  in  Adam 
or  Moses.    We  are  not  in  Adam  or  Moses.    They  are 
set  aside  completely  in  Christ.     Now  you  stay  in 
Christ,  practically.     "Now,  little  children,  abide  in 
Him."    The  enemy  is  here,  to  say  to  the  prof essingj 
(christian  who  does  not  know  his  place  in  heaven, 
and  is  acting  wholly  on  the  earth,  and  taking  for  hisj 
christian  walk  the  ten  commandments,  which  are| 
an  offense  and  an  insult  to  God.   It  is  a  denial  of  the'  \^ 
cross  and  resurrection  for  a  man  to  put  himself  un-; 
der  the  ten  commandments.     Then,  of  course,  it  is?  tt-^ 
just  as  bad  an  insult  for  him  to  act  in  his  own  lustsl       ^m 
in  any  form.     It  cannot  please  God.     Nothing  willjC*^  i^ 
please  God  except  a  walk  in  the  Man  in  whom  weP'*^ 
are. 

"That  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love." 
That  is  His  love.  Apprehending  love  more  richly. 
You  see  now  why  we  have  to  have  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  strengthen  us  for  this ;  that  we  may  be  rooted 

103 


Jlv^' 


and  grounded  in  love.  In  Peter  it  says,  '*  Grow  in 
grace."  We  have  to  be  planted  there  before  we  can 
grow.  Many  that  are  absolutely  before  God,  planted 
in  grace,  are  trying  to  grow  up  in  the  law.  That  is 
what  makes  such  trouble  in  their  minds.  And  so  it 
is,  **Be  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,"  that  we  may 
be  able  to  apprehend  with  all  saints. 

Ver.  18.  ''May  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all 
saints  what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  depth  and 
height."  In  Chap.  vi.  we  are  told  to  pray  for  all 
saints  ;  and  in  Chap,  i.,  '*  When  I  heard  of  your  love 
unto  all  spants."  You  see  how  all  saints  are  before 
the  mind  of  the  Holy  Spirit  here,  because  the  book  is 
about  the  saints,  our  position  and  our  standing  and 
our  hope,  the  hope  of  the  calling  of  God.  Our  rela- 
tion and  apprehension  with  all  the  saints.  This  is 
the  object  of  all  teaching  among  the  saints,  to  get 
them  to  apprehend  what  is  already  true.  It  is  not 
to  tell  people  that  are  saints  how  to  be  saved,  nor  to 
tell  them  that  they  may  risk  their  salvation,  or  be 
tripped  up  on  it,  but  to  tell  them  the  things  that 
apply  to  them ;  who  they  are  and  what  they  are  ;  all 
that  God  has  purposed  in  regard  to  them,  and  all 
that  is  to  come.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  to  take  of  the 
things  of  Christ  and  show  them.  And  then  He  is  to 
show  us  things  to  come.  O  what  a  wondrous  thing 
it  would  be  if  all  the  saints  were  getting  it !  Of 
course  in  this  day  there  is  but  a  little  remnant  that 
are  getting  any  of  the  truth  at  all.  Would  that  it 
were  otherwise.  It  is  intensely  sad,  but  we  have  to 
consent  to  it  that  this  is  the  fact.  It  would  be  very 
terrible  to  think  that  there  were  no  more  saints  than 
those  that  are  receiving  this  light  on  Ephes.,  Thess., 
and  Col.  They  are  saints  as  believers  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  whether  they  know  these  things  or 
not. 

The  thing  to  apprehend  is  what  is  the  depth  and 

104 


length  and  breadth  and  height,  and  I  believe  the,       i^ 


sentence  is  not  finished.     There  are  two  unfinished 
sentences  in  Scripture,  the  one  where  Moses  in  Ex. 
xxxiii.  said  to  God,  "  If  Thou  wilt  forgive,"  and  then  j 
stopped,  not  knowing  whether  He  would  or  not.    He  I 
had  never  heard  such  a  word  as  *'  forgive."  The  law 
had  not  one  word  about  forgiveness  in  it.   "How , 
could  he,  therefore,  do  other  than  halt  ? 

The  other  is  this  passage,— ''To  know  what  is  the  ^ 
depth  and  length  and  breadth  and  height — "  you 
have  come  to  an  infinite  thing.  It  is  not  the  depth 
and  breadth  of  God's  love,  but  simply  that  we  have 
come  into  the  full  expansion  of  everything  that  God 
gives  out,  and  that  you  may  know  what  is  the 
breadth  and  length  and  depth, — (Ver.  19),  "And  to 
know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge, 
that  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God." 
In  Chap.  i.  the  prayer  was  to  the  God  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might  have  the  spirit  of  reve- 
lation in  the  knowledge  of  Him,  to  know.  There 
were  three  fundamental  things  there  to  know.  It 
was  taking  in  God's  counsels.  That  was  knowledge. 
*'  What  is  the  hope  of  His  calling  and  the  riches  of 
His  inheritance  in  His  saints  and  the  working  of  His 
mighty  power."  And  the  prayer  is  that  we  might 
know  these  things.  But  now,  after  He  has  given  us 
the  disclosure  of  God's  heart,  and  all  the  love  that  is 
in  Christ,  as  set  forth  in  that  one  Person,  the  heart 
must  have  its  expansion  and  overflow.  It  is  simply 
exulting  and  triumphing  and  worshiping.  This  is 
what  He  would  have,  "To  know  the  love  of  Christ 
that  passeth  knowledge."  It  is  more  than  knowing. 
And  not  only  that,  but  *'to  be  filled  unto  all  the  full- 
ness of  God." 

Beloved,  there  is  no  way  of  talking  about  these 
things  except  to  state  them.  Only  to  give  them  so- 
lemnity and  due  weight  as  we  read  them.     Now  we 

105 


hJ 


i^' 


»^ 


have  come  to  the  limitless.    In  the  age  of  Moses  and 
the  prophets  there  were  limitations.     *'  Eye  hath  not 
seen  or  ear  hath  not  heard,"— so  there  was  a  limita- 
tion then.     In   regard  to  prophecy,   the  Spirit  of 
Christ  that  was  in  them  did  signify  the  sufferings 
of  Christ  and  the  glories  that  should  follow.   But  how 
little  they  knew  about  it !    They  had  to  ask,  "  What 
does  this  mean  ? "    And  it  was  revealed  that  these 
things  were  not  for  them,  but  for  a  future  age.    Then 
they  stopped.    They  were  limited.    We  are  told  that 
angels  desired  to  look  into  these  things,  but  there 
was  a  limitation  for  them.     We  are  made  to  know 
,^i  l'  very  distinctly  what  a  difference  there  was  between 
,^^Israel  and  the  angels.     He  made  known  His  acts  to 
^y^  Moses,  and  that  was  beyond  what  He  told  angels. 
^    Then  God  broke  out  afresh  among  Israel  before 
w»f*     Christ  came,  giving  John.    He  was  sent  to  bear  wit- 
ness of  the  Light,  but  he  had  to  stop,  for  he  had  a 
limitation.     He  says,   "  I  knew  Him  not ;   but  He 
that  sent  me  to  baptize  said.  He  is  the  Son  of  God. 
He  must  increase,  but  I  decrease."    We  fall  heir  to 
all  the  things  in  Christ.    John  retires  and  leaves  all 
these  for  us. 
iC       Then  the  Twelve  take  up  what  they  know,  and 
they  tell  of  all  He  did  and  said,  from  the  day  He 
^  *^*       began  His  ministry  to  the  day  of  His  ascension ;  but 
J^^    there  is  a  limitation. 
^  f  >' '     But  now  Paul  comes,  and  the  heavens  are  opened, 
'"        and  Christ  in  the  highest  place  that  God  puts  Him, 
on  the  throne  of  the  Majesty  of  heaven,  and  with  an 
^        infinite  scope  of  things,  and  the  key  to  every  thought 
^^    of  God  and  the  whole  Scripture.     We  are  in  an  un- 
j^ ^    limited  field.     It  is  not  for  speculation  nor  to  gratify 
y^    curiosity  nor  to  spur  up  the  mind  to  be  more  and 
' '     more  active  in  these  things,  but  it  takes  the  heart. 
We  are  intensely  interested  in  the  Man.     It  is  not  a 
literary  pursuit,  something  that  cultivates,  but  the 

106 


interest  of  the  heart  with  the  Heart  up  yonder.    To 
be  filled  unto  that  fullness.    To  be  filled  as  He  be-i 
comes  the  fullness.    We  learn  in  Col.  that  He  Him-; 
self  is  the  fullness,  and  all  the  fullness  was  dwelling 
in  Him.     Then  we  have,    **You  are  filled  up  in 
Him!"    I  always  wanted  to  preach  on  that,  "You 
are  complete  in  Him  ! "    But  I  never  have  done  it . 
yet.     It  is  such  a  large  thing.     You  are  filled  up  j 
completely,  and  all  this  fullness  is  in  Him.     **That; 
ye  might  be  filled  unto  all  the  fullness  of  God."  God 
has  not  shown  His  fullness  by  creating  the  stars  and 
filling  the  heavens  and  having  the  millions  of  things 
that  are  here ;  he  has  done  it  by  showing  out  this 
new  Man  in  the  heavens.     He  has  really  concen-( 
trated  all  His  heart  and  all  His  will  for  all  the ) 
future,  through  the  millennium  and  through  eter- 
nity, in  that  one  Person  !    And  He  does  not  ask  me 
simply  to  stand  by  and  look,  but  to  come  in  and  par-  ^ 
take  and  partake  and  partake  of  that !    And  that 
corresponds  with  what  we  have  about  gazing  uponi 
Him,  and  being  changed  practically  into  His  image.  \ 
And,  "  We  shall  see  Him  as  He  is,  and  we  shall  be ' 
like  Him."    It  is  quite  true  that  we  are  now  as  He/ 
is,  even  in  this  world. 

Cannot  you  see  what  an  appeal  it  is  to  our  hearts 
to  be  filled  unto  all  the  fullness  of  God  ?    His  full- 
ness is  Christ,  and  our  own  fullness  is  Christ,  His 
own  glad,  rich,  and  free  invitation.     We  shall  never  \ 
be  usurpers  in  taking  these  things.     We  shall  never/ 
be  rushing  in  where  we  do  not  belong.    For  they  are) 
ours,  as  they  are  His  ! 

Ver.  20.  "Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do  ex- 
ceeding abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think, 
according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us."  Here 
we  have  to  stretch  ourselves  to  take  in  what  is  said. 
"Exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or 
think  I"    Then  led  up  and  held  to  it  by  the  Iloly 


X 


Spirit  working  m  us  as  newly  created  and  risen 

sons. 

Then  the  appeal,  ''Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to 
do  exceeding  abundantly  ! "  How  little  prayer  seems 
alongside  of  this.  And  how  little  prayer  is  in  the 
way  it  is  generally  expressed.  And  when  I  have 
reached  out  to  the  furthest  and  up  to  the  highest  of 
all  that  I  can  apprehend  of  what  Christ  is  for  me, 
and  what  God  purposes  in  regard  to  me  in  Christ, 
He  says,  "There  is  a  range  beyond  all  that,  that  you 
have  not  reached  up  to  yet."  And  when,  with  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  do  this  asking,  with  groanings  that  I 
;'  could  not  utter ;— now,  after  I  reach  the  limit  of  all 
possibility  in  prayer  in  asking  all  these  things,— 
"To  Him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly 
above  it  all!*'  I  am  cast  upon  God  for  eternity.  I 
think,  in  view  of  it,  we  may  say,  as  Psalm  Ixxii. 
ends,  "  The  prayers  of  David  are  ended  ! "  Do  you 
know  why  ?  It  was  not  the  end  of  his  Psalms.  He 
had  given  the  Psalm  that  tells  about  Christ  in  His 
glory,  and  he  had  come  to  the  limit — the  end  of  all 
prayers.     It  just  tells  the  whole  story. 

Now,  when  we  have  gotten  to  the  end  of  all  this 
to  know  our  place  and  privilege  and  resource  and 
the  fullness  of  God  in  Him,  and  have  spoken  to  Him 
in  regard  to  all  this,  then  we  are  cast  upon  the  in- 
finite God  and  the  Christ  in  His  heart,  to  bestow  of 
it  beyond  all  we  ask  or  think.  I  do  not  want  to 
belittle  it  by  talking  about  it ! 

"  Unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  church  by  Christ  Jesus 
throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end,  Amen." 
Now  let  us  take  up  that  that  we.  had  in  Chap.  i. 
again.  "When  we  were  dead.  He  quickened  us 
together  with  Christ  and  raised  us  up  together  and 
seated  us  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  that 
in  the  agesjo^come^Ue  might  show  the  exceeding 
riches  of  His  grace  in  His  kindness  toward  us  by 

lj09 


Christ  Jesus."  Now,  this  ascription  is  farther  along 
than  that,  for  it  says,  "Unto  the  ages  of  ages;"! 
never  ceasing.  That  involves  the  millennial  and  the 
heavenly  age ;  what  is  called  the  new  heavens  and 
the  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness.  Ini  ^ 
the  millennial  age  it  is  righteousness  reigning,  but  in 
the  eternal  age  it  is  righteousness  dwelling.  It  is  all 
very  well  to  have  a  righteous  King,  but  here  they, 
will  live  where  it  dwells. 

Now  He  comes  further  along  here,  as  though  He 
would  bring  out  the  whole.  He  says,  *'  Be  glory  by 
the  church,  through  the  ages  of  ages."  Well,  it  is 
our  place,  brethren,  and  that  is  where  we  are.  Amen. 
And  every  heart  may  well  respond  to  that. 

Now  we  are  ready,  then,  having  been  told  this  to 
get  our  hearts  engaged,  and  to  touch  us  in  the  most 
vital  way  with  the  revelation  that  is  for  the  heart, 
after  having  given  us  that  to  supplement  the  former 
two  things  that  were  told  about  the  church  as  the 
body  and  the  church  as  the  house,  to  come  in  that 
freshness  and  fullness  of  apprehension  of  what  Christ 
is  in  Himself  to  the  application  of  all  this.  You  see 
a  reason  why  we  should  have  turned  aside,  as  Moses 
did,  to  see  this  great  sight  in  Chap.  iii. ;  that  we  should 
take  up  what  has  been  said  in  Chaps,  i.  and  ii.,  and 
see  its  glories  as  it  comes  to  the  soul  within  us,  re- 
freshing and  filling.  When  he  has  done  that,  not 
content  with  saying  it  back  there  at  the  end  of  Chap, 
ii.,  he  adds  what  is  given  in  Chap.  iv.  1, 

|0» 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Ver.  1.    *'I,  therefore,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord, 
beseech  you  that  ye  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation 
wherewith  ye  are  called."     Do  we  see  the  power 
in  this  application  ?     But  what  is  the  beseeching  ? 
Why,  that  we  take  up  this  thing,  and  walk  worthy 
of  the  calling  wherewith  we  are  called.     We  will 
have  to  be  led  along  in  detail  in  that.    We  cannot 
take  it  in  at  one  viewing.    We  can  look  abroad  in 
all  the  heavens  at  night,  but  we  shall  be  more  pro- 
foundly affected  if  we  go  to  some  powerful  telescope, 
and  see  millions  of  stars  there,  and  calculate  dis- 
tances.   Then,  how  profoundly  we  shall  be  affected 
with  what  God  has  done.  So  it  is  well  to  say,  *'  Walk 
worthy  of  the  Lord  ; "  but  the  same  Holy  Spirit  that 
says  that  must  say,  "  thus,  and  thus,  and  thus ; "  and 
tell  us  one  thing  after  another.     He  gently  leads, 
after  all.    He  will  lead  us  along  in  detail.    But,  first 
of  all.  He  will  begin  with  the  very  highest  thought. 
It  is  a  very  high  one  to  say,  "Walk  worthy  of  this 
calling."    But  He  must  give  us  certain  simple  prin- 
ciples ;  and  what  would  you  say  would  be  the  first 
one  ?    Has  there  been  anything  said  through  the 
whole  of  this  chapter,  and  in  Chap,  i.,  where  we  are 
told  that  we  are  raised  and  seated  in  heavenly  places, 
and  that  God  purposed  all  that  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world ;— has  there  been  anything  said  to  make 
us  lifted  up  in  our  own  estimation  ?  The  flesh  would 
take  it  up  and  hold  itself  superior ;  and  therefore,  the 
proper  word  is,  now,  for  the  recompense — "all  low- 
liness ! " 

Ver.  2.     ''With  all  lowliness  and  meekness,  with 
long-suffering,  forbearing  one  another  in  lov^,"    Jt 


is  self-emptiness.  As  they  are  God's  thoughts  en- 
tirely, I  must  have  none  of  my  own  thoughts.  I 
must  have  none  of  the  lifting  up  of  man's  thoughts. 
We  are  strengthened,  but  the  wonderful  matter  is 
that  it  is  Christ's  life  and  not  our  own.  It  is  because 
we  are  Christ's  that  we  get  all  And  so,  '*  with  all 
lowliness."  It  is  the  first  thought,  and  it  would  seem 
to  be  the  only  one  that  could  have  been  given  here. 

And  then,  ''meekness."  That  is  quietly  waiting, 
is  it  not  ?  That  is  making  nothing  of  self.  It  is  not 
having  my  way  in  this.  It  is  taking  it  up  with  per- 
fect simplicity  of  spirit.  Inasmuch  as  He  is  talking 
about  the  saints,  you  see  them  recognized  here  at 
once.  "  With  all  long-suffering,  forbearing  one  an- 
other in  love."  It  is  peculiar  that  He  should  have 
given  that  verse  before  the  others.  But  Christ  was 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart. 

Second,  toward  man.  **  Forbearing  one  another 
in  love."  Now  we  have  these  two  attributes  as  we 
begin  to  walk  in  the  truth  that  is  told  us  in  the  for- 
mer portion  of  the  epistle.  We  shall  have  need  of 
both  of  these.  W^e  shall  need  to  recur  to  them  con- 
tinually. There  must  be  all  lowliness  and  meekness. 
We  are  to  esteem  others  rather  than  ourselves.  We 
are  to  forbear  and  bear  with  more  and  more  tender- 
ness. 

The  latter  part  of  Ver.  2  recognizes  the  fact  of  our 
being  among  the  saints.  We  are  not  looked  at  sim- 
ply as  alone.  The  whole  epistle  is  with  reference  to 
all  the  saints  ;  that  is,  all  believers,  and  everything '] 
;hat  was  told  about  them  shows  that  we  are  one  in 


mat  was  toia  aoout  tnem  snows  tnat  we  are  one  m  ^     \j 
Christ — Jew  and  Gentile.     We  were  quickened  to-   Ja^ 


gether  with  Christ  and  raised  up  together,  and  no 
matter  how  it  is  denied  on  the  earth,  we  are  one,  for 
God  says  so.  It  is  just  as  I  know  I  am  saved  because 
God  says  so,  and  as  I  know  the  Lord  is  coming  for 
He  sa}'  s  so.     It  is  an  immense  advantage  to  us  that 


we  take  things  from  the  word  just  because  God  says 
it.    Then  we  have  something  to  settle  it  eternally. 

•  It  is  not  because  we  feel  it :  because  we  might  feel  a 
great  many  false  things ;  but  because  we  have  the 

I  word  of  God  for  it. 

Here,  then,  these  three  primary  truths  ought  to  be 

well  settled  by  and  for  every  one  of  us.    I  recur  to 

the  work  that  Christ  did,  and  therefore  I  know  that 

I  am  eternally  saved.    He  cannot  go  back  and  die 

over  again,  and  therefore  I  cannot  go  back  into  my 

old  condition.    Then  for  the  present  He  is  up  in 

heaven,  and  God  tells  me  all  about  Him  up  there, 

and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  sent  down  to  gather  us  into 

one  body.    We  know  it,  then,  because  God  tells  us. 

We  know  it  as  He  says  it.    Then,  of  course,  we  have 

other  truth  with  regard  to  Him,  up  there.    Not  only  is 

He  the  Head  of  the  church,  but  High  Priest  repre- 

\^^^   senting  us  there  constantly,  and  we  representing 

tV   Him  here  constantly,  as  sons  of  God.    And  then 

t»^       when  we  sin  He  is  Advocate  for  us.    These  cover 

^-        the  time  that  He  is  up  in  heaven.     Then,  in  the 

^  ^t^-^    future,  Christ  is  coming  in  the  glory  and  we  are 

'^    ^       coming  with  Him;  therefore,  we  must  needs  be 

jj^^"^  ,  caught  up  to  meet  Him.    Then  we  come  back  with 

»  it     {  Him,  to  reign  in  the  glory.     And  it  is  so  placed 

'^^      before  us  that  we  are  as  sure  of  it  as  that  we  are 

jij^     saved.    The  heart  must  take  it  up  as  an  immediate 

*  thing,  always. 

Then  "the  hope  of  His  calling"  that  we  had  in 
Chap.  i.  is  that  we  are  to  come  and  reign  with  Christ. 
Then  we  have  learned  that  by  the  church  He  might 
show  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  in  His  kind- 
ness toward  us.  There  is  the  testimony,  and  the  time 
and  place  of  testimony,  in  all  the  ages  to  come. 
Then  we  learn  that  for  the  present  period,  now  unto 
angels  and  principalities  and  powers  in  the  heavenly 
places  we  are  to  manifest  the  manifold  wisdom  of 

US 


IP 


God ;  that  they  might  learn  the  wisdom  of  God  by 
our  practically  demonstrating  it. 

These  are  the  things  that  are  positively  told  us, 
and  we  are  to  rest  upon  them  all  the  time.    You  will 
see  from  this  that  we  are  not  to  show  ourselves  on 
the  earth,  but  now,  during  the  present  interval,  to 
the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places. 
Men  have  read  what  they  call  the  Sermon  on  the.u^ 
Mount—a  portion  that  pertains  particularly  to  thej       ^' 
Jews — and  they  have  said  that  the  church  is  thej*'^ 
light  of  the  world,  but  it  is  not  so.     That  was  the  .  r^ 
people  that  were  to  be  on  the  earth,  and  they  had  no 
other  scene.     And  because  that  was  given  up,  and 
they  rejected  Him  even  after  He  was  crucified  and 
risen,  now  He  has  a  heavenly  people.      Because 
Noah's  descendants  failed  utterly  in  all  that  had  to    ^  H(i 
do  with  showing  out  God  on  the  earth  and  maintain- 
ing His  worship  here,  so  that  they  lost  God  alto-    V^ 
gether  and  turned  to  idols  ;  therefore  God  called  out 
from  the  midst  of  that  idolatry  Abraham,  and  he 
simply  had  to  walk  with  God.    His  tent  and  his  altarr 
were  a  continual  testimony  that  he  was  a  stranger,! 
and  that  his  heart  was  elsewhere.    The  Church  is  too 
busy  in  the  true  place  of  testimony  to  be  occupied 
in  testifying  to  the  earth.     We  must  get  that  clear, 
because  here  we  read  about  gifts.    They  are  for  the    , 
edifying  of  the  body,  the  building  of  the  church.     It 
is  false  to  say  that  the  church  must  convert  the 
world.    We  do  not  find  a  word  about  our  converting 
the  world.    The  prophets  are  full  of  it",  but  we  have 
gone  through  Chap,  iii.,  and  have  seen  what  the' 
church  is,  that  it  was  not  a  subject  of  the  prophets, 
was  not  made  known  to  other  ages  and  generations.  • 
It  was  a  secret  that  was  kept  hidden,  but  it  is  now 
revealed.     And  then  that  we  should  be  members  of 
His  body,  connected  with  the  heavens,  just  as  Abra- 
ham was  called  out  from  e\ery thing,  to  be  separate  ' 

U8 


;  from  everything  that  was  going  on.    He  had  nothing 
j  to  do  with  converting  the  Amorites.     Did  not  he  fill 
his  place  ?    He  did  when  he  stayed  there,  but  when 
he  went  down  into  Egypt  he  failed.    So,  just  as  soon 
^  as  we  go  down  into  the  world,  we  are  as  he  was  in 
Egypt.    Abraham  lied  when  he  did  it,  and  so  will 
we  when  we  do  it.     Take  heed  that  we  are  not  occu- 
pied and  associated  with  that  which  is  apostate  to 
.  the  truth  now. 

Ver.  3.     "Endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."    The  first  word  is  "en- 
deavor"; but  there  is  no  such  word  as  endeavor  in 
the  Scripture.     It  would  do,  I  suppose,  for  a  legal 
church  to  interpret  it  and  say  "endeavor";  but  it 
^yifJ^  will  not  do  for  God's  word.     It  means,  "Do  it!" 
^  The  same  word  that  is  given  in  Second  Peter  iT^ 
ti^        "Giving  all  diligence"  to  perform  practically  what 
^^   you  are  called  for.     "Endeavor"  means  with  us  to 
*^'  „    try  :  not  to  succeed.    This  means  giving  all  diligence, 
^^\^**\  ."and  actually  putting  your  whole  heart  and  mind  to 
.^^    \  do  it.    There  is  no  such  word  as  "  trj^"  in  Scripture. 
'  God  never  told  a  man  to  try  to  believe.     He  never 
Hjtj^^^  told  a  man  to  try  to  do  anything  that  He  told  him  to 
^         do.     He  says,  "Do  it!"     *'Trj"  is  of  the  devil^ 
All  the  "  Try,  try,  try  again  "  is  of  the  devil.    Do  it ! 
God  tells  us  infinite  truths.     Now  take  them.     The 
moment  you  doubt,  it  means,  "I  will  try  to  believe 
you,  but  I  do  not  know  as  you  are  telling  the  truth ! " 
He  says  the  work  is  finished,  but  you  say,  "  I  will 
try  to  believe  it."    It  is  only  making  God  a  liar. 
When    He    says   that   Christ  is  the  Head  of   the 
church,  and  I  say  that  I  will  try  to  believe  it,  I  am 
.  trying  to  help  Him  out  by  making  other  heads  and 
^rulers.     That  is  simply  impeaching  God.    A  great 
deal  of  the  piety  of  the  day  is  making  God  a  liar. 
,The  momeni  one  believes,  he  is  a  son  of  God  as 
■much  as  he  will  ever  be. 

U4 


il 


Here  we  have  learned  all  these  things  in  these: 
three  chapters ;  indeed,  in  the  first  and  second,  as 
the  third  only  emphasizes  all  that.     Now  if  we  have 
learned  these  things,  what  next  ?    Do  them  !    Whati 
is  the  first  thing  we  learned  ?    Raised  and  seated  in 
heavenly  places,  and  then  that  we  are  one  in  Christ   v 
Jesus.     Then,  keep  that  unity,  the  unity  of    the  j)^. 
Spirit,  the  unity  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  to  do  with.      '  % 
"  In  whom,  after  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed."    We,  ^^***r 
were  sealed  in  Christ.     All  the  believers  from  the  J^^:^^ 
resurrection  down,  form  the  body  of  Christ.     The.  VU>^ 
believers  of  the  Old  Testament  are  not  in  the  Body, »  ,  -»    \ 
of  course.     This  being  the  case,  we  are  to  keep  that  ^ 
unity.    Can  we  not  keep  It?    Practically,  we  can 
deny  it.     The  unity  of  the  Spirit,  then,  is  the  unity 
that  the  Spirit  has  set  forth  in  this  word,  and  the 
unity  that  the  Holy  Spirit  forms.     Sealed  in  Him, 
each  one  is  attached  to  Christ,  in  His  body ;  just  as 
the  arm  is  attached  to  one's  body.    Everything  within 
me  has  its  connection  with  my  head.     So  we  are  all 
as  necessary  to  Christ  as  He  is  to  us,  just  as  my 
finger  is  as  necessary  to  complete  my  body  as  my 
head  is.     So  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  One  that,  gather- 
ing us  to  Christ,  is  to  move  everything.     We  must 
keep  the  unity  in  the  uniting  bond  of  peace.     That 
does  not  mean  that  every  one  is  to  go  his  own  way. 
There  is  no  independence  about  it,  as  there  is  no  in- 
dependence in  the  members  of  my  body.     The  inde- 
pendence is  in  my  spirit.    There  is  not  a  muscle  that     ij^p,v> 
dares  have  any  movement  of  its  own  ;  the  head;  |^    ^ 
must  control  everything.     That  is  the  thing  to  start,  *    ^^ 
out  with.     We  do  not  control  in  the  church.     God    * 
has  not  called  us  into  His  counsels  and  said,  *' You 
make  certain  creeds,"  etc.     He  has  not  asked  our 
counsel.     The  Head  proposes  to  do  the  whole  thing.       . 

So  that  is  what  we  are  to  keep.     The  keeping  of 
to-day  may  be  more  difficult  than  in  Paul's  day..;  tS'- 

116  *^V 


There  was  then  very  little  of  the  dirision*  of  to-day, 
very  little  of  the  worldliness.  Giring  diligence  to 
keep  His  word,  we  may  have  to  stem  the  tide,  and 
we  may  have  to  stand  almost  alone.  Never  mind ; 
diligently  keep.  Will  anything  less  than  that  satisfy 
,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  Will  our  plans  and  meth- 
ods and  systems  satisfy  Him  ?  The  thing  that  He 
has  not  told  us  to  do  will  not  receive  a  reward. 
We  must  do  exactly  what  He  says.  Then  we  must 
go  back  to  see  what  the  principle  is.  Seven  things 
constitute  the  unity  of  the  Spirit. 

Vers.  4-6.  "  One  body  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  ye 
are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one 

v«^  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is 

^^    \  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  all."    Now  these 

.  vt^  *  T  are  the  seven  units  that  constitute  that  unity.  Seven 
is  God's  number  of  perfection  throughout  the  Script- 
ure. Then  the  perfect  number  of  unity  contains  all 
these  things. 

We  begin  then  with  the  one  Body.  I  need  not  en- 
large upon  that,  because  we  have  spoken  of  it.  Here 
is  the  unity  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  there  is  the 
unity  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  every  one  of 

Jf  these  is  a  unity.  We  have  more  than  one  unity, 
have  we  not  ?    Did  He  say,  **  Endeavoring  to  keep 

>  r^  ■  the  unity  of  the  Protestant  church "  ?  Every  man 
of  God  in  this  world  is  in  the  church,  and  sealed  in 
Christ  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  we  are  all  members 
'one  of  another.    Every  one  that  is  a  saved  man, — 

.  ^     ,.   I  am  a  member  of  him,  and  a  member  with  him. 
*1»*    'Not  the  various  bodies,  but  the  one  body.    There  is 

^    ^^T^o  warrant  in  the  Scripture  for  the  various  bodies. 

/V  '^  As  soon  as  such  a  thing  was  manifested  in  Corinth, 
Iw    the  Holy  Spirit  had  to  say  to  them,  "I  know  all 

^^^  ]  about  this.  Is  Christ  divided  ?  You  are  members 
of  Christ,  members  of  one  body."  He  did  not  say, 
"Endeavor  to  keep  your  Paul  system,  and  your 


Peter  system,  and  your  Apollos  system";  but  re- 
buked them  and  called  them  carnal.  Now  that  First 
Cor.  is  before  us,  we  have  something  by  which  we 
can  judge  for  this  day.  We  might  never  have 
known  had  it  not  begun  already  back  there.  The 
Holy  Spirit  has  taken  occasion  to  correct  all  this,  by 
which  we  can  see. 

Then,  second,  one  Spirit.  Not  a  thousand  spirits  »- 
but  one.  Not  one  to  live  in  and  lead  each  denomina*  %'^*^^ 
tion,  and  then  each  individual  to  be  led  by  a  sei)arjate  .  .^^ 
spirit*  We  do  not  get  that  from  the  word.  The  ^j^ 
Holy  Spirit  has  written  what  He  has  for  us  in  the  J^  ^^ 
Scriptures.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  getting  inde-  *  Xj^m^ 
pendent  revelations  from  the  Holy  Spirit ;  He  has 
completed  the  word  of  God. 

Now  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  has  the  Spirit  solely  as 
guide.  How  am  I  going  to  guide  my  children  ?  By 
my  word.  I  shall  write  it  if  I  am  away,  and  I  shall* 
talk  to  them  if  I  am  present.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
competent  to  tell  out  what  He  wants,  and  He  has 
done  it.  And  Paul  says  it  is  complete.  We  turn  to 
Col.  i.  25,  and  we  find  that  he  completed  the  word  of 
God. 

So,  then,  we  have  this, — one  Body,  one  Spirit; 
only  one.    Being  sure  that  God  lives,  and  that  Christ 
died  and  rose  again,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  pres- 
ent if  you  are  led  by  the  word  and  I  am  led  by  the 
word,  we  will  go  together  perfectly.     I  know  there  i       ^ 
are  degrees  of  understanding,  as  there  are  degrees    ^  ^ 
of  faithfulness  in  walk.     But  if  we  both  take  the       \M 
same  word,  and  are  alike  subject  to  it,  we  will  both   *        i 
get  the  same  thing  and  can  mind  the  same  thing.  ^ 
If  we  all  have  the  same  word,  we  will  all  have  the  '  |^*^^ 
same  thing  from  that  word.     The  Holy  Spirit  is  not      i  ^ 
the  word,  but  He  has  given  the  word.     So,  heeding 
the  word  is  heeding  what  the  Holy  Spirit  says.     It » 
is  not  what  you  make  out  of  it,  but  what  it  says. 

117  ^  ~'2:^-'- 


You  will  find  it  exceedingly  instructive  to  bring 
others  back  to  it.  There  never  would  have  been  a 
question  about  verbal  inspiration  if  men  had  paid 
heed  to  what  was  written.  AVhen  Jeremiah  said, 
**  Thy  words  were  found  and  I  did  eat  them;  and 
Thy  word  was  with  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of 
mine  heart;"  it  was  the  words,  not  the  general 
scope  of  it.  You  get  the  general  scope  of  it,  too. 
There  is  not  a  book  in  Scripture  that  more  clearly 
confirms,  and  actually  makes  a  fact,  the  perfect  in- 
spiration of  the  Scriptures  than  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion, because  it  takes  up  every  subject  from  the 
beginning.  Evfery  book  empties  into  the  book  of 
Revelation,  just  as  every  book  starts  from  Genesis. 
John,  in  Revelation,  does  not  utter  a  word  of  him- 
self, but  simply  what  is  told  and  shown  him  by  Christ. 
Is  not  that  verbal  inspiration  ?  Then  we  find  that  all 
the  subjects  that  are  taken  up  in  Scripture  are  taken 
up  as  no  book  of  man  could  take  them  up,  and  none 
other  subjects  are  taken  up  than  those  given  in  the 
preceding  books. 

And  so  we  find  that  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  out  the 
word  that  we  are  practically  to  act  as  one.  There  is 
little  dependence  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  to-day,  but  a 
constant  appeal  to  man's  will.  Men  get  together  and 
say.  We  will  form  a  church ;  we  must  have  a  pastor. 
Fifty  will  vote  for  A.,  and  forty  for  B.  Is  that  of 
the  Holy  Spirit?  W  ell,  they  say  that  fifty  is  more  than 
forty,  and  A.  is  elected.  So  it  is  in  regard  to  every- 
thing else.  Before  we  get  through  with  this  chapter, 
we  shall  find  that  God  gave  gifts.  Is  there  the  unity 
of  Spirit  in  such  things  ?  Is  man's  will  keeping  the 
unity  of  the  Spirit  ? 

What  will  it  involve  ?  A  great  deal  for  every  one 
of  us.  That  we  be  broken,  and  that  we  take  the 
first  word  He  tells  us,  that  of  meekness.  It  is  be- 
cause we  have  gotten  something  for  ourselves  that 

118 


•3 


we  have  put  forth  our  will ;  and  now  if  we  are 
broken  in  accordance  with  the  first  word  of  this 
chapter,  we  are  ready  to  let  God  tell  us,  "I  give 
gifts."  Then  we  will  find  how  He  sends  them  forth 
Himself,  and  He  will  take  charge  of  them.  As  soon  \^ 
as  we  provide,  it  is  not  God's  church  at  all,  but  man's.j 

WEat  is  the  next*lhing  ?    **  One  hope  ; "  the  hope 
of  His  calling.     What  is  the  hope  of  the  church  to-?    ^ 
day  ?     To  spread  over  the  world  and  convert  it.^ 
Not  one  syllable  of  it  true,  according  to  the  word  of/  ' 
God.    We  are  told  that  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  v  -  •    ' 
lis  is  an  earnest  of  our  inheritance  until  we  are  there ; 
until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession. 
That  will  be  our  real  time  of  display.     What  is  a 
woman  that  is  betrothed  to  a  man  to  be  married  to 
him  ?   As  betrothed,  she  is  no  more  the  same  woman  ; 
she  is  a  woman  still,  but  not  the  same.     She  is  lifted 
out  into  a  peculiar  prominence.     But  until  the  mar- 
riage day,  what  is  she  ?    As  pledged  to  him,  she  is 
to  be  faithful  to  him  ;  waiting  for  him.     That  is  the 
whole  of  the  church's  position.     Then  comes  the 
time  of  the  marriage  and  lihe  display  and  the  house- 
keeping.    Sne  is  called  apart  from  all  other  women 
now  for  him,  but  the  time  will  come  directly,  and 
that  for  which  she  is  called  apart  will  be  consum- 
mated.    It  is  not  our  display  now.     It  is  display 
after  a  while.     Now  by  keeping  the  word  as  the 
church,  we  display  to  the  principalities  and  powers 
in  heavenly  places.     God  has  taken  us  out  to  be  an  i 
example  ;  if  we  are  subject  to  Him,  we  shall  be  this.  I  ]^^ 
The  hope  of  our  calling,  then,  is  by-and-by  to  be  dis-  { 
played.     It  may  be  in  a  very  little  while. 

If  we  are  all  right  on  the  one  body  and  the  one  | 
Sp'rit,  and  have  not  the  one  hope,  we  have  failed. 
Ir  we  are  all  right  on  the  one  baptism  and  one  Lord, 
and  leave  out  the  others,  we  fail.     You  must  keep 
them  ail !    Seven  things  that  we  have  given  to  keep, 

119 


^fi^  and  they,  all,  one.  Practically  keep  and  act  in  tliem 
,^  *  all.  The  Lord  may  come  before  to-morrow.  Let  us 
t^^^ ,  get  them  clearly  and  really. 

V,^     Ver.  5.    "  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism."  This 

has  to  do  very  especially  with  confession.     "One 

Lord."    It  is  not  simply  one  Christ ;  it  is  Lordship. 

'  This  takes  away  the  idea  of  the  authority  of  man, 

whether  it  be  one  or  a  multitude.    Apprehended 

properly,  it  would  keep  us  from  bowing  to  man,  or 

^     ?    allowing  any  choice  by  man,  or  headship  of  man  in 

i^  .  any  form.     With  that  standing  right  before  us,  it 

fj^t^'^  \  would  seem  strange  if  we  did  not  know  the  poor 

l"*  j  human  heart ;    how  far  the  church  has  wandered 

^  ^  \  from  God,  and  come  to  allow  just  the  opposite  of 

this,  for  in  the  professing  church  there  are  lords 

many  and  rulers  many,  by  election  of  man.    One 

.  ^     Lord  is  the  distinctive  honor  which  Christ  has  had 

given  to  Him.    He  is  made  both  Lord  and  Christ, 

and  so  is  the  one  Lord.    All  the  gifts  are  in  His 

hands,  and  He  has  them  all  to  bestow,  and  He  has 

the  whole  governing  of  the  Assembly  in  every  way. 

Then,   "one  faith."     Now  that  faith  brings  us 

out  of  our  old  condition  as  sinners,  guilty  and  lost, 

through  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ  into  a 

place  in  Him,  so  that  we  are  no  longer  what  we 

were.    There  is  nothing  short  of  that  as  to  faith. 

Paul  refers  to  it  in  Second  Tim.  iv.,  "I  have  kept 

!.  the  faith."    It  is  the  peculiar  position  into  which  we 

are  brought.    The  truth  in  regard  to  it  of  Christ's 

death  and  resurrection  and  our  death  and  resurrec- 

-  tion  in  Him.     It  is  not  simply  confessing  that  there 

is  one  God,  that  Christendom  has  come  to  now,  but 

it  is  absolutely  the  faith  and  belief  on  the  Lord  Jesus 

Christ  that  takes  us  out  of  everything  we  were  ;  out 

of  ourselves,  out  of  the  world,  and  presenting  us 

there  before  Him,  a  new  creation  altogether. 

Next,  "one  baptism."    And  this  is  the  expression 

120 


of  that  faith  externally.     As  many  as  believed  were 
baptized.     It  has  to  do  with  the  external  matter  of 
leaving  the  world.     I,  as  a  Jew,  left  my  Judaism, 
and  you,  as  a  Gentile,  left  your  Gentilism.     Now  to 
be  buried  into  death,  and  then  raised,  as  Col.  gives 
us,  by  which  we  are  risen,  and  have  come  out  prac- 
tically from  the  old  standing  that  we  had,  as  men,  in 
any  form.     Rom.  vi.  gives  it.     We  are  baptized  into 
His  death,  wherein  we  are  risen  again  in  newness 
of  life.     It  is  not  a  sealing.     It  has  not  any  saving 
quality  in  it.     The  faith  saves;  but  the  baptism  is^ 
the  confession  of  it.     It  confesses  the  whole  thing  of  i 
death  and  burial  and  resurrection.     The  link  with! 
Christ  is  confessed  thus.   We  had  to  die  to  get  to  Him. » 

Ver.  6.    "  One  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above 
all  and  through  all  and  in  all."    Then  we  have  this 
precious  fact,  held  by  one  God  and  Father.     That  is 
our  God  and  Father.     This  is  to  be  kept,  then,  the  i 
fact  that  God  is  our  Father,  and  it  has  become  so 
through  all  this ;  through  the  one  Lord  and  the  work ' 
that  He  has  done,  and  by  my  confession  I  am  brought 
into  that  place  that  God  is  my  Father  as  He  is  the 
God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.    He  is  \ 
over  all !     "  Of  whom  every  family  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  named;"  thus  He  is  over  all.     **For  this 
cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  every  family  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  named." 

He  is  through  all  and  in  all.  That  is  fellowship. 
Christ  said  in  John  xiv.,  '•  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will 
keep  my  words  :  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and 
we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with 
him."    It  is  really  having  Him  in  us,  and  as  Father. 

Now  these  things  are  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  and  ' 
lacking  any  one  of  them,  we  fail.     O  how  many  are 
lacking !     How  Christendom  of  to-day  has  denied 
every  one  !    They  have  turned  aside  from  them,  and 

121 


have  taken  all  that  is  Jewish  in  direct  contrast  to 
all  that  is  given  ;  this  church  truth,  and  the  practi- 
cal holding  of  all  that  God  has  given  in  this  heavenly 
,  calling  and  standing  and  hope.  He,  then,  that 
denies  one  of  them  or  fails  in  one  of  them,  is  not 
;  keeping  the  unity  of  the  Spirit. 

This  is  the  definite  and  unique  thing  that  the  Holy 

Spirit  is  now  setting  forth.     The  Holy  Spirit  was  not 

down  here  dwelling  in  the  people  in  Israel's  day. 

But  we  get  a  totally  distinct  character  of  things 

by  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  here  as  the  result  of 

Christ's  death  and  resurrection  ;    and  these  seven 

,     things  constitute  them  all,  and  this  is  the  reason 

iL  it^^ why  it  is  called  the  unity  of  the  Spirit. 

jTf.  '      Right  in  faith  and  wrong  in  baptism  will  not  do. 

»•**     And  right  in  baptism  and  wrong  in  the  unity  of  the 

**•       body  will  not  do.     But  how  can  we  talk  about  it  ? 

v»^*w    There  is  nothing  like  it  on  the  earth.     While  He 

A*      I  says  give  all  diligence  to  keep  this,  we  find  that  it  is 

the  one  thing  that  has  not  been  kept. 

Having  said  what  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  is,  the 
next  is  to  speak  of  gifts  to  the  body.  To  my  body 
there  is  given  every  gift  that  is  needed  to  nourish  it. 
I  have  hands  to  provide  food  and  put  it  to  my 
mouth  ;  I  have  feet  to  carry  me  where  I  need  to  go, 
and  eyes  to  see,  and  ears  to  hear.  And  so  I  have 
every  gift  to  sustain  my  body.  And  so  the  body  of 
Christ  has  gifts. 

Ver.  7.  **  But  unto  every  one  of  us  is  given  grace 
according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ."  That 
is,  He  has  given  grace  to  exercise  that  gift. 

You  remember  in  1  Cor.  xiii.,  the  gifts  are  the 
distinctive  result  of  love,  the  expansion  of  love  ;  so 
much  so,  that  He  says  that  if  I  have  not  love  it  does 
not  matter  what  I  have,  there  is  nothing  at  all  in  it ; 
I  have  nothing  ;  people  have  received  nothing.  How 
emphatic  that  is  in  that  chapter  !    It  takes  the  whole 

122 


IP 


of  that  section,  Chap,  xiii.,  to  bring  it  out.  Then 
the  gift  cannot  be  for  show  or  emolument ;  it  must 
always  be  the  expression  of  Christ's  own  love  to  His 
own.  So  it  says,  "  To  each  is  given  grace  according 
to  the  measure  of  the  gift."  One  gift  may  need  it 
more  than  another,  and  one  may  be  seen  to  be  the 
expression  of  love  more  than  another.  Certainly  it 
must  be  Christ's  love  that  goes  out  to  save  the  lost 
sinners  through  the  evangelist.  It  must  be  love 
that  will  exercise  a  pastoral  care.  It  must  be  love 
that  opens  the  word  to  the  saints.  All  these  gifts, 
you  see,  are  simply  love.  **  To  every  one  is  given 
grace." 

And  then,  quoting  from  Psalm  Ixviii.,  looking  to 
the  glory  of  Christ,  Ver.  8  :  **  Wherefore  He  saith, 
when  He  ascended  up  on  high.  He  led  captivity 
captive  and  gave  gifts  to  men."  Here  it  is  quoted 
with  special  reference  to  the  gifts  connected  with 
the  church.  "  Thou  hast  led  captivity  captive  or  led 
a  multitude  of  captives."  Here,  I  apprehend,  is  what 
we  have  in  regard  to  the  Old  Testament  saints, 
delivered  from  their  captivity  in  hades,  and  going jC-^*^ 
up  to  be  with  Christ.  A  multitude  of  captives  they 
were. 

Next,  there  is  a  little  parenthesis.  Vers.  9,  10. 
"  Now  that  He  ascended,  what  is  it  but  that  He  also 
descended  first  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  ? 
He  that  descended  is  the  same  also  that  ascended 
up  far  above  all  the  heavens,  that  He  might  fill  all 
things."  If  He  ascended,  He  must  have  been  here  ; 
and  further  there  was  going  down  into  hades. 
Psalm  xvi :  **  For  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in 
hell ;  neither  wilt  Thou  suffer  Thy  Holy  One  to  see 
corruption."  Then  He  is  looked  at  at  the  right 
hand  ;  "  At  Thy  right  hand  there  are  pleasures  for 
evermore."  And  He  is  not  satisfied  when  He  gets 
up  there  to  be  there  simply  for  His  own  enjoyment, 

133 


t\^ 


There  are  pleasures  for  evermore,  it  is  true ;  the 

fullness  of  joy  is  there ;  but  He  is  there  for  our 

sakes.    He  is  there  to  be  crowned  because  He  has 

done  this  work,  and   then  having  these  gifts  to 

bestow  upon  His  body.     Is  it  not  a  wonderful  thing  ! 

And  why  are  men  acting  as  though  He  were  not  be- 

I  stowing  gifts  ?    They  are  electing  and  choosing  men 

j  as  though  He  did  not  do  it,  when  He  had  to  ascend 

up  on  high  and  to  be  crowned  with  the  reward  of  His 

work,  in  order  to  do  it.     When  I  look  at  all  these 

^associations,  where  they  ordain  and  license,  etc.,  I 

u  say,  "  How  did  they  get  a  right  to  bestow  gifts  ? 

gW      ,  Did  they  ascend  on  high  ? " 

We  find  in  Rev.  v.  that  He  is  the  only  One  that 

j^^ takes  that  roll  and  opens  those  seals  ;  the  only  One 

f^^^^     in  all  the  universe ;    the  One  that  has  shed  His 

,'^*^  blood  to  purchase  the  whole.     He  is  the  only  One 

2^^   that  has  a  right  to  say  who  they  shall  be.     No  man 

y^^^f^    can  add  to  it,  any  more  than  He  can  add  to  the  word 

Ay\^  "*    of  God.     And  they  cannot  do  it  without  having  to 

^>  answer  for  it.     It  is  impeaching  His  authority  and 

f^^      His  right  to  bestow  all  gifts.     These  things  are  not 

-"#.     written  in  a  trifling  way  at  all.     They  carry  their 

foi'ce  with  them  all  the  time. 

"He  ascended  on  high."    First  though.  He  must 

go  down.     And  no  man  that  has  not  been  down 

there  for  sins  and  is  not  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of 

iv:t'*  God  for  sins,  has  any  right  to  do  this. 

**  And  what  are  the  gifts  ?    Ver.  11.    "And  He  gave 

some,   apostles ;    and    some,   prophets ;    and    some, 

evangelists  ;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers."    The 

gifts  spoken  of  here  are  those  that  go  on  to  the  end. 

See  the  difference  between  what  we  have  in  this 

chapter  and  in  1  Cor.  xii.  28.    You  remember  in 

1  Cor.  i.  7,  they  "came  behind  in  no  gift."    They 

all  had  gifts.    The  church  had  that  in  the  beginning. 

It  is  a  blessed  thing,  in  the  midst  of  the  apostasy 

l?4 


so  wide  that  we  are  in,  that  Christ  is  seen  address- 
ing the  remnant,  and  saying,  *'To  him  that  over- 
cometh."  It  is  a  blessed  thing  when  we  know  that 
many  gifts  have  departed,  to  find  that  certain  gifts 
will  go  on  to  the  end.  How  blessed  that  is  !  How 
blessed  in  the  history  of  Israel,  when  the  priest  had 
no  power  in  his  place,  and  when  the  king  had  turned 
aside  and  they  were  gone  into  idolatry,  and  when 
the  Shechinah  had  left  and  gone  into  the  heavens, — 
how  blessed  it  was  for  poor  Israel  then  to  say,  "We 
are  not  deserted  of  God."  Among  their  assets  were 
prophets.  What  were  prophets  ?  People  to  be  the 
mouth  of  God.  And  so  to-day  we  are  blessed  that 
we  can  get  God's  word.  God  will  preserye  to  the 
end  the  gifts  that  will  give  His  word,  pure  and 
simple.  Therefore,  He  says  that  He  gave  some 
apostles,  and  we  have  them  yet  in  all  their  sim- 
plicity, just  as  God  gave  them.  He  had  them  write 
down  truth  that  He  gave  them  for  us,  unmixed  with 
philosophy,  standing  pure  and  clear,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  we  have  it  yet.  Christ  could  say  to  the 
Jews  in  His  day  that  they  had  Moses  though  he  was 
dead  long  ago ;  and  so  to-day  we  can  say  that  we 
have  Paul.  We  have  the  whole  revelation  that  was 
made  known  to  him.  Paul  is  as  fresh  to-day  as  if 
he  had  just  come  into  this  room,  and  said  he  had 
just  received  the  revelation.  All  that  is  contained 
in  Cor.  and  Eph.  and  Col.  and  Gal.  We  have  them 
all.  We  are  thoroughly  furnished  in  regard  to 
church  truth  and  church  conduct.  We  have  an 
epistle  written  on  purpose  to  show  us  how  we  ought 
to  conduct  ourselves  in  the  house  of  God,  the  church 
of  God.  (First  Tim.)  We  have  one  in  the  age  of 
apostasy  to  tell  us  exactly  what  our  resource  is. 
(Second  Tim.)  We  have  one  in  a  day  like  this,  when 
legality  is  almost  universal,  the  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians,  by  this  same  Paul.    If  we  want  to  know  what 

126 


church  truth  is,  we  get  it  from  this  epistle,  Ephe- 
sians.  If  we  want  to  know  our  relation  to  the  Head, 
that  we  may  hold  fast  the  Head,  we  have  Colossians. 
If  we  want  to  know  how  to  act  under  all  this  truth, 
so  as  to  walk  as  the  heavenly  persons  and  not  as 
earthly  ones,  we  have  Philippians.  If  we  want  to 
know  how  to  act  in  the  simplicity  of  the  same,  we 
have  the  Epistle  to  Philemon.  If  we  want  to  know, 
^  in  the  day  of  the  most  terrible  ritualism,  that  is  in- 
\1\^^  creasing  more  and  more  all  the  time  and  turning 
everything  over  to  Judaism,  we  have  the  Epistle  to 
•  the  Hebrews,  that  warns  us  on  all  sides  and  shows 
Him  up  in  the  glory.  If  we  want  to  have  Christ 
Himself,  through  whom  all  gifts  came,  we  have  to 
take  all  these  epistles  together,  and  He  is  brought 
out  rounded  and  full  of  grace,  more  and  more  for  the 
heart  and  conscience  and  faith  of  each  one.  Then  if 
we  want  to  know,  in  the  midst  of  this  denial  of  the 
faith,  in  regard  to  salvation,  what  it  is  in  itself,  we 
go  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  which  tells  the 
whole  thing ;  beginning  with  us  in  our  sins  and  ex- 
posing us  as  guilty,  and  then  bringing  in  the  right- 
eousness of  God  to  meet  all ;  and  so  we  are  brought 
into  life  in  Him,  and  there  is  no  condemnation  be- 
fore God ;  we  are  sons  of  God  and  heirs  of  God,  that 
His  grace  and  His  righteousness  have  been  shown 
for  us ;  gi^ace  reigning  through  righteousness  unto 
eternal  life.  Why,  we  are  perfectly  equipped,  for 
he  gave  apostles  ;  and  we  have  them  yet.  It  is  fool- 
ish to  talk  about  successors  to  the  apostles.  It  is  a 
crime  against  the  church,  and  it  is  only  of  Satan, 
We  have  apostles  ;  we  do  not  want  any  successors. 

Paul  tells  us  in  Col.  i.  25  that  it  was  given  to  him 

to  complete  the  word.     Then  if  we  want  to  know  all 

'  about  the  coming  of  the  Lord  and  the  judgments  of 

Christ  Himself,  for  He  will  judge  in  His  own  house, 

the  church,  and  will  judge  Israel  and  take  care  of 

126 


His  little  remnant,  and  judge  the  professing  church 
in  its  apostasy.     We  have  to  listen  to  John  in  the  I 
Book   of   Revelation,    "The   Revelation   of    Jesus! 
Christ." 

If  we  want  to  know  what  fellowship  is  with  the 
Father  and  with  the  Son,  we  listen  to  the  same  voice 
of  John  in  his  first  epistle.  If  we  need  to  have  all 
this  pressed  upon  us  with  reference  to  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  read  his  second  and  third 
epistles.  If  we  want  to  learn  all  about  our  being 
pilgrims  and  strangers,  and  learn  that  the  trial  of 
our  faith  is  more  precious  than  gold,  we  turn  and, 
listen  to  Peter,  who  was  the  man  to  talk  to  the  rem- 
nant and  to  the  pilgrims  and  the  strangers,  and 
appealing  to  us  to  walk  in  all  separation,  because 
God  is  separate,  and  making  us  know  that  we  are  a 
holy  and  a  royal  priesthood. 

And  we  have  prophets  of  the  New  Testament./* 
Everyone  that  gives  out  the  word  is  a  prophet,  giv-  j    V 
ing  it  for  exhortation  and  comfort,  and  to  profit 
everyone  with  it.    They  are  linked  with  the  apostles.' 
Take  Paul  and  Barnabas,  sent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
then  Silas  came,  and  that  would  be  like  a  prophet, 
giving  out  God's  utterances  all  the  time ;  not  neces- 
sarily opening  scripture  as  teachers,  but  giving  out 
the  miiid  of  God  as  received  from  Him  ;  the  mouth 
of  God  to  us.     We  have  the  word  to  judge  him  by  if 
he  does  not  speak  according  to  it.     He  may  stand  in 
the  pulpit,  but  if  he  is  not  giving  the  word  of  God 
he  is  a  false  prophet.     A  prophet  simply  speaks  for 
another.     To  prophesy  is  to  speak  for  another,  not  \    JP     < 
to  speak  one's  own  words.     Now,  then,  if  I  give  you    ^ 
mj  opinion,  I  am  not  a  prophet.    If  I  give  you  God's    .    jX 
mind,  I  am  prophesying.     That  is  what  this'^ift  'f-'^ 
means.    The  pro'phet  is  named  with  the  apostles,  but 
here  it  is  spoken  of  as  though  it  might  be  another 
giftj  and  it  is.     Then,  He  gave  some  evangelists,  \ 


»  messengers  of  good  tidings.    Well,  the  good  tidings 
*  were  contained  in  what  the  apostles  gave.    We  find 
in  2  Timothy  i.  11  that  Paul  said  he  was  all  three ; 
he  had  all  gifts.    He  speaks  of  that  in  1  Cor.  xiv. 

First  of  all,  the  apostle  gets  the  original  truth  from 
God,  and  we  have  it.    And  the  evangelist  takes  out 
\j^       the  message  by  word  of  mouth, — the  simple  good 
r,     news  that  Christ  died  and  rose  again, — and  he  goes 
^Y^     out  to  the  sinner.     That  is  the  evangehst's  work  ;  it 
has  to  do  with  sinners.     He  is  to  bring  the  precious 
news  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save 
.  .sinners,  and  that  it  is  all  done.    Then  he  has  a  little 
JvAnore  to  tell.    The  good  news  contain  what  the  hope 
•^       of  our  calling  is,  and  he  must  tell  what  he  is  saved 
to,  and  that  is  the  membership  of  Christ.    The  evan- 
gelist has  not  finished  when  he  gets  a  man  to  believe 
on  Christ,  but  he  must  tell  him  what  he  is  when  he 
does  believe,  and  that  the  Lord  is  coming. 
/     Now  we  come  to  the  next,  pastors  and  teachers. 
^'     The  pastor  and  teacher  is  one.    Every  teacher  is 
^  necessarily  a  pastor ;  he  cannot  help  it.    It  is  in  the 

\r^.  gift.  If  he  teaches,  he  is  opening  out  the  word, 
J^'  and  probably  he  will  have  to  minister  also  as  a 
pastor.  That  has  to  do  with  the  individual  care  of 
the  soul.  It  is  not  visiting  and  taking  tea,  but  it  is 
the  actual  spiritual  nourishing  of  the  individual.  He 
has  to  open  the  Scripture  to  this  one  personally,  in 
the  matter  of  trial  and  difficulty,  and  he  has  much 
to  do  with  the  word  beside  simply  opening  it  and 
explaining  it. 

Ver.  12.  Now  what  are  all  these  gifts  for  ?  "  For 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ."  Edi- 
fying is  building  up.  We  are  built  up  by  the  word, 
and  not  by  sympathy  or  intellectualism ;  we  are 
built  up  by  the  word  only. 
*<  For  the  perfecting  of  the  saints  "  is  the  first  thing. 

128 


Iaj^ 


They  must  first  have  the  word,  and  then  they  must  * 
have  the  teacher  to  go  on  unfolding  it.  "  For  the ; 
work  of  the  ministry."  There  is  the  general  minis- 
try. Then,  '^For  the  edifying  of  the  body."  The 
other  has  an  individual  bearing,  but  here  it  is  to 
gather  and  build  up.  Now  the  evangelist  is  the  one 
that  builds  up  the  body.  He  adds  to  the  body,  for 
every  soul  that  is  saved  is  a  member  of  the  body. 
Then  there  is  the  building  up  in  the  truth  that  the 
teacher  does.  They  all  work  together.  What  is  it 
given  for  ?  That  we  shall  not  be  tossed  about  by 
every  wind  of  teaching,  by  the  sleight  of  men,  giv- 
ing what  they  think. 

Ver.  13.     "Till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  thei 
faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  , 
a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  / 
fullness  of  Christ."    The  gifts  that  are  spoken  of  in     ^**^ 
Ver.  11  must  necessarily  go  on  to  the  end,  for  this  •viKjj^*^ 
verse  says  it;  that  these  gifts  are  until  all  is  over  CU*^ 
and  we  are  caught  up.     Now  that  perfect  man,  andi    jK^JL 
stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ,  isTHe  complete  j 
body7 joined  to  the  Head,  and  that  cannot  be  until ftTTj^ 
the  last  one  is  saved  during  the  present  period,  aiicl '  \^^  -^ 
thus  we  have  pledged  the  gifts  by  which  the  word  .    j  ** 
will  come  to  us.     We  may  have  no  gifts  of  miracles,  I       jA 
but  we  will  have  gifts  that  will  keep  the  word  before     ^*  ' 
us.    Can  anything  be  more  delightful  ?    We  shall 
always  have  the  word  of  God,  just  as  the  righteous 
ones  among  the  Jews  could  say,   "We  have  the 
prophets  given  to  us.    The  mouth  of  Jehovah  speaks 
to  us."    And  so  to-day  ;  clear  up  to  the  end,  no  mat- 
ter what  comes.     All  the  epistles,  saving  Rom.  and  ■ 
Thess.  and  Eph.,  that  contain  primary  truth,  are  . 

teUing  of  aposlasy  deepening,  and  as  we  go  on  fur-  yl4^ 
ther  down  to  the  end,  we  are  told  that  this  will  be ;  ^ 

that  the  whole  thing  will  be  a  profession  of  godli-  /M*-*^ 
ness,  yet  going  on  in  pure  wqrldliness.    Now  while  i 

129 


{  that  is  so,  we  can  have  this  as  the  only  comfort. 
I  We  shall  have  the  word  until  the  body  is  complete, 
i  the  perfect  Man,— the  man  in  Christ  Jesus ;  and  that 
j  could  not  be  if  there  was  one  left  out.     I  apprehend 
i  we  are  nearing  the  end,  when  the  last  one  will  be 
brought  in;  and  I  think  that  God  is  stirring  the 
hearts  to  preach  the  gospel  afresh,  that  He  may 
bring  in  very  rapidly.     While  there  are  many  evi- 
dences that  the  end  is  close  by  and  the  time  to  be 
caught  up,  we  shall  have  the  truth  for  the  evangelist 
and  the  teacher,  because  we  have  the  truth  that  was 
given  to  the  apostles  and  the  prophets. 

Ver.  14.  **That  we  henceforth  be  no  more  chil- 
dren, tossed  to  and  fro  and  carried  about  with  every 
wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men  and  cunning 
craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive.*' 
Driven  about  like  children,  ^i^he  figure  seems  to  be 
like  a  vessel  on  the  water,  and  driven  about  by  every 
wind,  and  tossed  about  rudderless.  The  waters 
would  be  the  nations  among  whom  we  were  cast, — 
that  we  are  not  dependent  upon  what  this  one  says 
or  that  one  says,  nor  are  we  to  be  turned  aside  by 
any  blast  of  infidelity  or  untruth,  but  simply  held  to 
the  truth,  and  not  to  be  driven  about  by  winds  of 
,  doctrine  and  false  teaching.  And  we  are  to  have  it 
I  so  that  we  can  speak  it. 

Ver.  15.  "  But  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may 
grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  Head, 
even  Christ."  It  is  spoken  to  us  in  love.  That  is 
the  ground  of  all.  We  can  ourselves  speak  it  among 
ourselves.  What  a  sweet  and  tender  word  that  is  ! 
Here  we  are  cast  alone  where  Satan  is  reigning,  and 
yet  we  can  be  carried  along  until  the  Lord  comes 
because  those  gifts  are  yet  extant. 

May  we  never  allow  any  of  these  things  that  are 
going  on  to-day,  but  always  go  back  to  the  apostles. 
Th£^t  is  the  great  thing.    Let  everything  be  weighed 

m 


and  measured  by  the  word.  Then  we  can  be  sure 
that  we  will  be  carried  through.  "  May  grow  up 
into  Him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  Head,  even 
Christ."  That  is  the  figure  of  the  body  again,  grow- 
ing up ;  every  part  of  the  body  growing  naturally  ; 
and  the  word  is  to  form  the  body  of  Christ,  so 
that  every  part  shall  grow  proportionately ;  all 
being  brought  under  the  power  of  the  same  truth. 
How  thoroughly  opposed  this  is  to  what  is  often! 
said,  that  you  can  get  anything  out  of  the  Bible.  { 
Yes,  if  you  do  not  read  it  you  can.  But  if  we  are 
formed  by  the  apostles,  and  are  taking  the  word  as 
God  gave  it,  we  will  get  the  same  thiug,  and  grow 
up  in  the  same  proportion,  and  as  we  get  it  we  shall 
certainly  grow  up  together. 

And  then,  growing  up  into  Him  ;  part  and  parcel 
of  that  body  of  which  He  is  the  Head.  When  a  child 
grows  too  large  in  the  head  for  his  body,  there  is 
very  great  danger.  When  his  body  outgrows  his 
head,  he  will  probably  be  a  fool  in  another  direction. 
But  when  body  and  head  grow  together  proportion- 
ately, that  is  the  perfect  child  ;  and  so  here  is  the 
perfect  Man,  we  growing  up  into  Him.  It  is  mar- 
velous that  here,  right  down  to  the  very  end,  we 
can  have  it  all,  as  perfectly  as  in  the  days  of  the 
apostles. 

Ver.  16.  *^  From  whom  the  whole  body  fitly  joined 
together  and  compacted  by  that  which  e^ery  joint 
supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body 
unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love."  You  get  the 
thought  that  every  part  has  to  do  a  work.  It  is  not 
the  great  gifts.  Every  muscle  and  bone  and  blood- 
vessel in  my  body  has  to  do  its  distinctive  work, 
and  all  acting  together.  Of  course  they  are  sup- 
plied by  the  food  and  the  air,  etc.,  that  every  part 
may  grow,  and  thus  we  learn,  not  only  that  there  are 

131 


gfreat  gifts  of  apostles  and  evangelists  and  teachers, 
but  that  every  one  of  us  is  a  gift  to  the  whole  body. 
To  do  without  one  little  portion  would  be  to  have 
an  impaired  body.  It  is  true  my  eyelid  is  not  as  use- 
ful as  my  arms  may  be.  I  could  even  have  it  cut  off 
and  yet  walk  about  and  work.  The  arm  seems  to 
be  a  great  thing,  but  the  eyelid  is  exceedingly  neces- 
sary to  me.  Every  little  joint  is  needed  to  make  the 
perfect  body  ;  and  so  every  child  of  God  is  needed, 
and  is  there  for  the  purpose  as  much  as  the  other 

jl^     \  gifts  are.     It  is  very  sweet  to  think  that  Christ  can- 
.  ^^ !  not  get  along  without  us.    It  is  a  blessed  fact  that 

^tf        He  cannot  get  along  in  the  glory  until  joined  to  us. 

^  *  He  cannot  begin  the  glory  until  we  are  there.     Thus 

the  working  of  every  part,  every  joint  of  supply, 
*'  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  building  up 
of  itself  in  love."  What  a  crowning  word  that  is  in 
regard  to  the  growing  up  of  the  body  of  Christ. 
Not  unto  a  union  but  unity  and  growing  in  love. 

For  the  gifts  are  the  outflow  of  love.  The  result 
of  all  truth  will  be  to  knit  us  together.  Not  to  pro- 
fess simply  that  we  are  one  body,  but  absolutely 
knit  together;  every  one  having  fellowship  with 
every  other  one ;  knit  together  in  love. 
—  Now  that  closes  the  first  application  of  the  truth 
in  Ephes.,  and  we  turn  aside  to  look  at  the  moral 
application.  These  have  to  do  with  the  practical 
life  in  regard  to  the  body  of  Christ.  The  same  truth 
has  its  moral  power,  and  so  Ver.  17  begins  a  new 
section  altogether. 

Ver.  17.  *'  This  I  say,  therefore,  and  testify  in  the 
Lord,  that  ye  henceforth  walk  not  as  other  Gentiles 
walk,  in  the  vanity  of  their  mind."  You  see  it  is 
linked,  afteft"  all,  with  the  other;  not  to  be  tossed 
to  and  fro,  and  taking  any  wind  of  doctrine,  and 
now  not  walking  after  their  own  thoughts  in  the 
vanity  of  their  own  minds. 

188 


Ver.  18.  "Having  the  understanding  darkened, 
being  alienated  from  the  life  of  God  through  the 
ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because  of  the  blindness 
of  their  heart."  Having  the  understanding  dark- 
ened is  the  condition  now  of  the  heathen,  from  whom 
we  were  taken.  "  Because  of  the  blindness  of  their 
heart ;"  lets  us  know  very  distinctly  that  everything 
starts  from  the  heart.  It  is  with  the  heart  that  man 
believeth  unto  salvation,  and  it  is  the  heart  that  gets 
alienated  from  God ;  it  is  the  inclination,  you  under- 
stand. Next,  the  intellect  follows.  Getting  away 
from  God,  the  mind  takes  up  all  that  is  away  from 
Him,  and  the  understanding  gets  darkened, — the 
origin  of  all  this  that  men  speak  about,—"  I  cannot 
understand ;  I  cannot  believe  this ;  my  mind  seems 
incapable  to  take  all  that ;  my  mind  must  have  bet- 
ter arguments  than  that."  That  is  all  folly.  Their 
minds  are  not  so  big,  but  their  hearts  have  been 
alienated.  Let  the  boastful  infidel  be  put  in  danger 
of  death,  and  he  will  send  for  somebody  to  talk  to 
him  about  the  future  and  Christ  and  salvation.  Let 
him  really  face  death  on  board  a  sinking  vessel,  and 
he  will  begin  to  pray  like  other  folks.  The  mind  is 
not  the  great  difficulty;  the  understanding  is  not 
the  primary  cause,  but  the  heart  alienated  from 
God.  Believing  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  clears  up 
the  intellect.  Man  is  prejudiced  against  God.  If  I 
am  prejudiced  against  a  man,  I  cannot  believe  any- 
thing good  about  him.   This  is  the  state  of  the  heart. 

Yer.  19.  "Who,  being  past  feeling,  have  given 
themselves  over  unto  lasciviousness,  to  work  all 
uncleanness  with  greediness."  "Being  past  feel- 
ing." They  have  no  response  to  Him,  it  seems.  Is 
not  this  the  word  of  God  ?  No  man's  word  would 
ever  have  defined  the  departure  of  man  from  God  as 
this  does.  It  is  kindred  to  what  we  have  in  Romans, 
In  Romans  it  says  that  God  gave  them  up.    They 

183 


^ 


left  God  altogether,  and  then  He  gave  them  up  to  all 
unclean  passions.  Here  it  says  they  have  got  thus 
by  having  become  past  feeling. 

The  exhortation  is  to  us,  you  see.     Now  we  are 
not  to  walk  as  we  used  to  walk.     Why  ? 

Ver.  20.     '*But  ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ." 

O,  it  is  a  wonderful  thing  how  Christ  comes  in  as  the 

key  to  everything  !    Take  that  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 

sians,  and  in  Chap.  ii.  it  will  tell  you  of  the  various 

things  that  are  corrupting  the  gospel,  and  it  will 

show  this  fact,  that  man  does  not  want  Christ.     The 

key  is  Christ.     We  do  not  require  great  learning, 

then,  to  take  these  things.     It  is  in  Christ,  and  that 

-    .  .=  tells  it.     So  here  it  does  not  require  the  ten  com- 

v''j|L  mandments  put  around  me  to  say,  "  Thou  shalt  not 

^   ^-Kdo  this."    It  is  enough  to  say,  **We  have  not  so 

learned  Christ." 

How  perfect  this  is  !  It  is  for  the  simple  believer 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — the  man  that  can  know 
he  is  saved.  That  tells  everything.  We  do  not 
want  anything  that  the  world  offers ;  we  have 
Christ.  We  will  not  listen  to  this  learning;  it  is 
not  Christ.  You  will  be  affected  often  where  dis- 
cussions come  up  with  the  absence  of  Christ.  It 
was  so  in  a  late  trial.  Nobody  seemed  to  mention 
Him.  The  announcement  in  regard  to  the  great 
.'  meetings  in  Chicago,  the  parliament  of  religions, 
gives  no  mention  of  Christ  in  any  one  day.  It  is  a 
parcel  of  religions — Christianity  among  them — but 
there  is  no  Christ  Nobody  is  to  talk  about  God's 
Christ.  Would  not  that  be  enough  to  keep  everyone 
that  knows  Christ  away  ?  It  may  be  of  interest  to 
man,  but  it  is  not  Christ.  I  pick  up  that  bill  and  I 
read  it  and  say,  "There  is  nothing  for  me  ;  there  is 
no  Christ  there."  "  Ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ." 
Christ  never  makes  us  act  out  all  thesp  lusts.  He 
never  leads  us  about  into  all  these  foolish  things. 

134 


Ver.  21.  "If  so  be  that  ye  have  heard  Him,  and 
have  been  taught  by  Him,  as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus." 
Now  that  is  looking  at  Christ  up  in  heaven.  It  gives 
the  title  of  Him  as  the  risen  One— Christ.  *'  I  have 
heard  Him  from  heaven."  As  we  have  it  in  that 
sweet  hymn,  "  I  have  heard  Him  and  observed  Him. 
What  have  J  to  do  with  idols  ?"  (Hos.  xiv.  8.)  If 
we  listen  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus  on  the  earth,  we 
would  get  righteous,  Jewish  teaching  for  the  earth  ; 
but  if  we  see  Him  up  yonder,  we  have  that  which 
takes  us  right  out. 

Then  He  says,  '*  As  the  truth  is  in  Jesus."  Why 
does  He  change  the  word  there  ?  Because  He  is 
looking  here  at  that  man  crucified  on  the  earth. 
And  that  tells  the  whole  thing  with  reference 
to  what  we  are.  Everything  is  crucified.  Our- 
selves and  our  lusts  are  gone  through  death.  The 
old  religious  man  is  gone.  Everything  is  gone ! 
Death  has  settled  it  all !  That  is  as  the  truth  in 
Jesus. 

Then  we  might  put  in  the  word  "namely,"  show- 
ing what  the  truth  is  in  Jesus.  Ver.  22.  "  That  ye 
put  off  concerning  the  former  conversation  the  old 
man,  which  is  corrupt  according  to  the  deceitful 
lusts."  Practically  I  am  to  put  off,  because  the 
cross  has  put  it  off.  There  is  no  compromising  that 
truth.  He  lets  you  know  that  the  old  man  is  cor- 
rupt. He  is  not  a  little  bad,  with  some  elements  of 
good  in  him,  but  he  is  corrupt.  We  have  much  need 
to  have  that  impressed  on  us  in  a  day  like  this,  when 
there  is  a  constant  appeal  to  cultivate  man  and  to 
grow  to  be  better.  We  are  told  sometimes  that  we- 
fail  to  recognize  the  native  goodness  of  man.  The; 
word  says  that  he  is  corrupt, — "According  to  the' 
deceitful  lusts."  And  those  very  lusts  come  into! 
nine-tenths  of  the  religion  that  is  going  on.  Men 
are  gratifying  their  own  thoughts  and  desires  in 

136 


many  of  the  things  ttiey  are  doing.  The  truth  in 
Jesus  is  another  thing. 

Witness  Titus  iii.  **But  after  that  the  kindness 
and  love  of  God  our  Saviour  toward  man  appeared ;" 
that  is,  philanthropy— "  Not  by  works  of  righteous- 
ness which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  His 
mercy  He  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration 
and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is  here 
mercy  and  pity.  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  the 
great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us, — "Which  He 
shed  on  us  abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour."  He  had  to  renew  and  then  wash  besides. 
That  is  God's  philanthropy,  and  nobody  has  any 
philanthropy  that  falls  below  that.  It  is  making  a 
new  man  by  the  abundant  mercy  that  is  shown  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

So  we  have  to  put  off  all  that.  Then,  the  other 
side,  "to  be  renewed."  Ver.  23.  "  And  be  renewed 
in  the  spirit  of  your  mind."  But  we  are  renewed  by 
the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewal  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  But  He  says  we  must  be  renewed.  How  ? 
"In  the  spirit  of  your  mind."  I  have  not  been  re- 
newed in  the  spirit  of  my  mind  by  the  act  of  Christ. 
I  am  made  a  new  man,  but  the  spirit  of  my  mind  is 
the  practical  thing.  I  must  take  it  up  and  enter 
upon  it.  I  must  walk  more  and  more  in  that  re- 
newal, let  my  intelligence  take  hold  of  it.  That  is 
what  the  renewal  of  the  mind  is. 

This  is  very  much  marked  in  the  jfipistle  to  the 
*Philippians,  where  the  mind  is  the  great  thing  that 
\  He  talks  about ;  never  about  our  being  saved,  for 
sin  is  not  mentioned  in  Philippians,  but  the  mind  is 
tol;ake~hold.  It'  is  that  being~raised  and  seated  in 
heavenly  places  and  linked  with  Christ  up  there ; 
the  mind  is  to  take  hold  of  it.  It  is  not  that  we  are 
not  crucified  or  that  we  are  to  be  crucified,  but  "  Let 
this  mind  be  in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus." 

186 


tt  is  not  that  we  are  to  be  put  into  conditions  of 
peace,  but  the  mind  is  to  get  the  peace  of  God  and 
the  heart  is  to  have  it.  It  is  all  practical.  And  that 
is  what  it  means  here, — ''to  be  renewed  in  the  spirit 
of  your  mind." 

Ver.  24.  "And  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man, 
which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and 
true  holiness."  We  give  up  the  old  conduct  and  now 
take  up  new  conduct.  ''Holiness  of  the  truth." 
There  are  two  things.  Righteousness  has  to  do  with 
conduct  toward  men  and  holiness  toward  God.  The 
new  man  is  created  with  reference  to  that,  and  he  is 
never  satisfied,  therefore,  with  anything  less  than 
perfect  righteousness  in  conduct  and  perfect  holi- 
ness toward  God ;  separation  from  everything  evil, 
and  a  thorough  righteousness  in  all  our  walk  in  con- 
nection with  men  and  God  too.  This,  then,  is  the 
general  principle. 

The  next  verse  begins  with  particulars.     Ver.  25. 
""Wherefore,  putting  away  lying,  speak  every  man 
truth  with  his  neighbor  :  for  we  are  members  one  of 
another."     "  Putting  away  lying ;"  that  is  putting 
off.    "  Speaking  the  truth  ;"  that  is  putting  on.   This 
is  the  negativing  of  all  that  I  was,  for  we  were  all 
liars.     Everything  is  false  that  man  has,  and  every\| 
thing  in  the  end  is  going  to  be  false  in  the  world.  1 
Unsaved  men  are  all  to  be  led  along  until  they  be-P 
lieve  a  lie  and  the  liar.    It  is  the  evil  one  down  here.] 

Well,  then,  we  were  thus,  and  He  says,  "  Putting 
away  lying."  A  lie  is  but  a  covering,  something  that 
man  can  run  under.  He  pretends  to  be  something 
that  he  is  not.  All  that  must  be  given  up.  What 
next?  "Speaking  the  truth;"  "every  man  speak- 
ing truth  with  his  neighbor."  That  is  because  we 
are  members  of  the  body.  How  would  it  do  for  one 
member  of  my  body  to  be  false  to  the  rest  ?  It  would  ^ 
be  palsy;  if  it  was  all  over  it  would  be  paralysis.) 

187 


What  kind  of  a  life  would  that  be  for  my  body  ?  So 
He  says,  **  Speak  every  man  truth  with  his  neigh- 
bor." The  word  "  neighbor "  includes  all  that  join 
us.  Hence  the  reason,  *^we  are  members  one  of 
another." 

Ver.  26.  "Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not ;  let  not  the 
sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath."  This  is  another 
principle.  One  of  those  things  that  men  and  women 
speak  most  about  is  temper.  God  never  put  any- 
thing into  us  that  was  not  of  use.  We  are  to  be 
Y  righteously  indignant  against  evil.  We  should  sin 
'  if  we  were  not  angry  sometimes  at  evil.  Not  to  rise 
up  against  all  the  iniquity  that  is  going  on  would 
not  be  like  Christ.  Be  not  afraid  of  that  kind  of 
anger  at  all.  If  you  are,  you  may  sin.  We  are  not 
placed  here  to  be  just  moving  along  through  the 
community  without  giving  rebuke  or  feeling  resent- 
ment towards  that  which  is  evil.  It  is  a  time  for 
resentment.  We  ought  to  resent  the  infamous  infi- 
delity that  is  growing  everywhere.  But  He  says, 
*'  Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath."  We 
cannot  hold  it  very  long.  We  can  stand  against  a 
thing,  but  the  indignation  must  be  overpast  in  a 
very  little  while.  Why  ?  It  will  begin  to  be  anger 
against  men  ;  it  will  be  resentment  that  comes  from 
me  toward  another  person  ;  just  what  I  might  have 
done  as  an  unsaved  man.  It  defiles  to  hold  it,  but  it 
is  a  righteous  thing  to  have,  for  we  are  told  to  abhor 
that  which  is  evil,  as  well  as  to  cleave  to  that  which 
is  good. 

Ver.  27.  "  Neither  give  place  to  the  devil."  Now 
in  Romans  we  are  told  to  give  place  to  wrath.  That 
refers  to  anything  personal.  There  would  be  a  place 
where  I  should  sin,  and  there  would  be  danger  all 
the  time.  In  Romans  it  means  evil  against  our- 
selves. It  says  to  give  place  to  God's  wrath, — He 
will  repay.     But  where  it  is  against  Christ  Jesus, 

Ids 


being  a  member  of  Christ,  I  must  stand  against  it. A 
It  says,  ''Do  not  give  place  to  the  devil  in  that  way."! 
That  keeps  me  from  resisting  and  resenting  evil. 
When  it  is  a  personal  affront,  give  place  ;  but  when 
it  is  an  affront  to  Christ,  never  allow  the  devil  a 
hair's  breadth. 

Ver.  28.  "  Let  him  that  stole,  steal  no  more ;  but 
rather  let  him  labor,  working  with  his  hands  the 
thing  which  is  good,  that  he  may  have  to  give  to 
him  that  needeth."  We  see  the  thoroughness  with 
which  God  takes  care  of  the  matter  of  conduct. 
Many  have  objected,  sometimes,  to  the  character  of 
the  truth,  and  say  it  is  high  truth,  but  we  must  un- 
derstand that  we  are  a  high  people,  and  so  nothing 
but  high  truth  pertains  to  us.  Just  as  well  might 
an  Israelite  that  had  gone  away  from  God  object  to 
the  truth  belonging  to  the  land  and  say,  ''That  is 
Land  truth.  Why  do  we  not  have  wilderness 
truth  ? "  The  facts  were  all  true  for  them  from  the 
moment  that  God  proposed  to  take  them  out  of 
Egypt,  to  the  time  when  all  their  enemies  were  con- 
quered ;  and  it  was  "  Land  truth."  And  all  through 
we  have  the  truth  of  the  heavens.  God  has  no  wil- 
derness truth  to  give  us.  We  are  called  with  a  holy 
calling ;  with  a  calling  on  high.  And  therefore  we 
are  not  to  say  that  we  want  truth  that  is  down  here, 
for  the  truth  belonging  to  our  place  is  the  truth  for 
us  here.  If  we  had  truth  apart  from  heavenly  truth 
it  would  keep  us  down  here.  The  truth  can  never 
be  a  particle  too  high  for  us.  It  is  a  mistake  to  talk 
that  way.  The  wilderness  that  God  gave  to  Israel 
was  the  first  two  years,  and  the  other  thirty-eight 
years  were  their  own  fault,  for  it  was  their  place  to 
go  to  the  land  directly.  The  real  truth  for  the  wil- 
derness is  what  we  would  find  in  Numbers  xiv.  And 
Caleb  held  that,  and  it  made  him  a  stranger.  And  he 
got  there,  too.   And  then  the  truth  after  he  had  gouQ 

139 


into  the  Land  was,  "  If  Jehovah  be  with  me."    That 
was  the  whole  thing. 

So  here.  But  look,  then,  at  the  wonderful  superi- 
ority of  that  to  what  it  would  be  to  be  under  the  law. 
But  a  good  many  are  disposed  to  be  under  the  law, 
which  is,  of  course,  contrary  to  all  truth.  It  is  a  denial 
of  our  ground  altogether  to  place  ourselves  under  the 
law.  Now,  instead  of  being  under  the  law  for  not 
,  stealing — for  the  law  would  curse  you,  for  you  all 
I  stole — here  we  have,  "Let  the  common  stealer" — 
I  the  word  is  the  regular  stealer,  the  one  accustomed 
(  to  it — "  steal  no  more."  We  were  all  that ;  we  were 
stealers  and  liars  and  everything  else.  But  we  have 
become  new  men,  and  there  is  no  stealing  here. 
"Ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ."  But,  on  the  con- 
trary, act  according  to  your  character,  and  what  is 
that  ?  The  new  man  acting  in  grace  all  the  time, 
and  to  labor  for  the  sake  of  giving  to  others.  Then, 
instead  of  taking  out  of  your  pocket,  I  turn  around 
to  give  to  everybody  ;  and  in  order  to  do  it,  to  labor 
and  earn  it.  What  a  difference  !  It  is  just  the  dis- 
tance between  the  two  conditions  of  what  I  was  in 
Adam  and  what  I  am  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  another  man 
altogether ! 

Yer.  29.  "'  Let  no  corrupt  communication  proceed 
out  of  your  mouth,  but  that  which  is  good  to  the  use 
of  edifying,  that  it  may  minister  grace  unto  the 
hearers."  Corrupt  communication  used  to  be  plen- 
tiful with  the  old  man  in  Adam ;  but  now  instead  of 
q,ll  this  it  says,  "  but  that  which  is  good  to  the  use  of 
edifying ;"  just  the  opposite.  "  That  it  may  minister 
'^race  to  the  hearers."  We  are  to  be  almoners  of 
grace  all  the  time.  How  shall  they  know  the  grace 
of  God  if  we  are  not  showing  it  out  ?  Minister 
grace,  then,  to  all. 

Yer.  30.  "  And  grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption," 

140 


•f^ 


Now  we  see  precisely  how  to  be  kept  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  life  that  is  given  us,  and  all  the  things 
that  are  said  in  this  book  as  to  our  place.  Grieve  \ 
not  the  Holy  Spirit.  As  surely  as  we  grieve  the] 
Holy  Spirit  His  communications  and  communion  ..  ^ « 
with  us  will  cease.  It  will  not  put  us  out  of  Christ  :<^  »  . 
to  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  will  not  make  it  untrue  Mp 
that  we  are  saved  and  heirs  of  God,  but  it  will  keep  \V5 
us  from  the  enjoyment  of  every  particle  of  it.  Grieve  J 
not  the  Holy  Spirit,  then.  He  gives  us  to  understand 
that  it  could  not  take  us  out  of  our  place,  for  He 
says,  ''Whereby  ye  are  sealed."  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  grieving  the  Holy  Spirit  away.  If  God 
were  man,  He  would  have  been  grieved  away  long 
ago,  of  course.  But  God  is  not  man,  and  He  is  infi- 
nite in  grace.  He  wants  us  as  dear  children  to  en- 
joy Himself,  and  we  are  children  forever.  It  would 
be  denying  everything  connected  with  our  calling 
and  our  standing  and  our  place  in  Christ  and  in  the 
heavens,  to  say,  Grieve  away  the  Holy  Spirit.  But 
you  can  see  how  grieving  may  be  done.  Suppose  we 
do  not  heed  what  He  tells  us  and  our  sins  are  uncon- 
fessed.  Suppose  I  insist  upon  being  under  the  law. 
Nothing  can  grieve  Him  more  deeply  than  that.  So 
in  Gal.  He  says,"  You  have  fallen  away  from  grace.", 
Not  fallen  from  salvation,  but  as  to  their  standing—/ 
that  they  are  standing  in  grace.  So  this  is  clear 
enough, — "Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit,  whereby  ye 
are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption."  That  is,| 
until  the  Lord  comes  and  redeems  everything  that  is; 
His,  which  He  has  long  ago  bought. 

Ver.  31.  "Let  all  bitterness  and  wrath  and  anger 
and  clamor  and  evil- speaking  be  put  away  from 
you,  with  all  malice."  We  are  only  particularizing 
what  was  given  in  a  general  form  from  Ver.  21  to 
Ver.  24.  "All  bitterness;"  we  are  never  to  enter- 
tain the  slightest  bitterness  toward  anyone.   We  are 

141 


not  to  carry  about  with  us  the  remembrance  of  evil 
that  is  done  to  us.  Kesent  as  much  as  you  please 
what  is  done  against  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  we 
are  never  to  resent  any  evil  done  to  ourselves.  ^^All 
bitterness  and  all  wrath  and  anger  and  clamor  and 
railing."  This  is  personal,  you  see.  In  Ver.  26  we  were 
to  be  angry,  but  that  had  to  do  with  standing  for  the 
truth  and  against  evil ;  but  now  it  is  with  reference 
to  self.  The  fact  is,  self  is  put  out  of  the  case,  and 
therefore  none  of  the  interests  of  self  are  allowed. 
It  is  a  wonderfully  short  and  incisive  word  that  is 
given  us  in  John,  **We  are  of  God,  and  the  whole 
world  lieth  in  the  wicked  one."  In  Col.  we  have, 
**  You  have  died,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God."  That  is  an  infinite  distance,  too.  We  go  as 
the  Israelites  went  out  of  Egypt,  leaving  everything. 
They  left  their  leaven  there.  You  are  to  bring  noth- 
ing that  will  leaven  or  will  spoil  anything.  Not 
anything  of  the  old  is  allowed. 

Ver.  32.  "And  be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tender- 
hearted, forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for 
Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  you."  This  is  the  oppo- 
site. Put  off  the  wrath  ;  put  on  this  ;  and  this  is  the 
measure  of  it:  "Even  as  God  in  Christ  hath  for- 
given you."  Well,  we  learn  in  Ver.  7  of  Chap.  i. 
how  much  that  was:  "In  whom  we  have  forgive- 
ness of  sins  according  to  the  riches  of  His  grace.'' 
What  a  standard !  And  you  and  I  are  to  act  in  the 
same  way. 

Q.  This  is  different,  then,  from  Matt.  vi.  12  ? 

A.  Yes ;  that  is  forgiveness  as  we  forgive ;  thus 
that  prayer  is  against  us.  That  is  waiting  for  the 
Lord  to  come  down  and  deliver  them,  oppressed  on 
all  sides  by  the  enemy,  who  insists  that  they  shall 
worship  him,  and  then  it  is  with  enemies  all  about 
them.  It  is  a  wonderful  prayer  :  "  Forgive  us  as  we 
forgive  ! "    But  for  us  that  are  in  Christ,  and  have 

149 


Christ's  own  life,  that  are  brought  into  fellowship 
with  the  Father  and  with  His  Son  in  regard  to  every- 
thing, and  that  know  all  things,  and  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  are  really  to-day  in  heaven,  forgiveness  ought 
to  be  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world.     But  then  our 
being  forgiven  is  placed  first.     *'As  you  have  been 
forgiven."   Everyone  can  see  that  what  is  called  the^  >rN-*^ 
Lord's  Prayer  would  not  do  for  us  at  all.     The  man' t 
of  Ephesians  and  Hebrews  and  Colossians  could  not  M^^ 
pray  that  prayer.     A  man  in  Christ  cannot  pray  it,' 
because  he  prays  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.    So,  if  I  am  practically  denying  the  things 
that  are  done,  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ, 
I  am  grieving  the  Spirit.     If  I  put  myself  under  law 
or  ritualism,  I  am  doing  the  same  thing.     Of  course 
it  is  ignoring  the  whole  matter  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
May  we  be  kept  from  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Wb  have  had  a  wonderful  model  shown  xis  in  the 
last  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter.  **  Forgiving  one 
another  as  God  has  forgiven  you."  That  is  a  very 
!  remarkable  fact,  that  we  are  called  upon  to  be  imi- 
I  tators  of  God.  It  is  not  simply  to  follow  Christ  as 
He  was  down  here,  which  of  course  would  be  infi- 
nite in  its  character,  but  it  is  taking  us  right  up  to 
God  Himself,  and  says.  Be  just  like  Him.  Here  He 
broadens  it  out. 

Vers.  1,  2.  "Be  ye,  therefore,  imitators  of  God  as 
dear  children ;  And  walk  in  love  as  Christ  also  hath 
loved  us,  and  hath  given  Himself  for  us  an  offering 
and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet-smelling  savor." 
"Walk  in  love."  That  is  precisely  the  way  God 
/  walks.  We  learn  that  God  is  light,  and  that  God  is 
love.  Now  He  has  done  everything  in  the  light 
perfectly, — brought  out  the  sin  and  iniquity  and 
thoroughly  judged  it  in  the  cross  ;  and  so  He  walks 
along  in  love  toward  those  who  were  sinners,  acting 
toward  them  in  infinite  love  all  the  time.  And  so 
He  comes  to  us  and  says,  You  be  the  same.  All 
your  walk  is  to  be  in  love.  God  has  settled  the 
whole  account  of  sin — forever.  Therefore,  I  may 
take  up  the  matter  of  love,  which  never  fails. 
Tongues  may  fail ;  prophecies  may  fail ;  faith  may 
fail ;  but  love  goes  on  forever.  So,  having  the  ques- 
tion of  righteousness  settled,  how  grandly  we  can 
walk  I  But  then  we  have,  as  we  must  always  have, 
the  one  Model  held  before  us— Christ.  So  it  says, 
"As  Christ  also  hath  loved  us."  That  is  the  way  to 
love.  Then  we  have  it  in  practical  expression,— 
"  And  hath  given  Himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a 
j^acrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet-smelling  savor," 


Here,  then,  is  the  perfect  definition  of  love,  as  set 
forth  in  the  holocaust  offering,  called  the  burnt 
offering,  in  Leviticus  i.,  and  as  the  meat  offering  in 
Chap.  ii.  It  is  Christ  fulfilling  everything  that  Qod 
would  have  from  man  toward  Himself  and  toward 
man.  Now  that  offering  is  held  before  us,  not  sim- 
ply as  that  in  which  we  are  accepted,  but  in  which 
we  are  to  off'er  up  ourselves.  We  are  to  be  continu- 
ally walking  in  that  way.  It  is  a  very  remarkable 
fact  that  we  are  called  upon,  not  only  to  take  our 
place  in  the  value  of  what  Christ  has  done  in  this 
offering  in  Leviticus,  but  to  act  in  that  way ;  to  have 
a  thorough  love  for  men  in  Christ.  We  are  the  onlyr 
beings  that  God  could  call  upon  to  do  this.  Angelsl 
could  only  obey.  But  we  are  alive  with  Him,  andl 
the  life  of  the  new  man  is  like  the  life  of  Christ . 

So  that  love  is  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit ;  and  peace  and 
joy  are  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  not  a  command ; 
it  is  fruit.  You  know  there  is  nothing  more  exacting 
than  a  tree,  with  the  sap  running  through  it,  and 
everything  made  for  bearing  fruit.  So  with  the  new 
man,  with  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  us  to  lead  us  out. 

What  is  the  first  fruit?  Love.  "And  walk  in 
love  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  hath  given 
Himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for 
a  sweet-smelling  savor."  We  have  a  very  beautiful 
expression  of  that  in  Phil.  iv.  In  the  ministry  of 
those  dear  Philippians  to  the  apostle  in  person,  he 
sees  it  as  a  savor  of  a  sweet  smell  unto  God.  They 
had  denied  themselves  to  help  him  in  his  need.  And 
thus  it  became  a  sweet  savor  unto  God.  This  is  very 
sweet  to  learn,  that  the  Spirit  has  thus  dignified  the 
simple  act  of  the  believer,  when  it  is  done  solely  as 
to  Christ,  and  for  Christ's  sake.  So  if  we  need  to 
know  what  this  means,  we  have  that  as  an  example. 
We  have  Christ's  own  life.  He  was  ever  ready  at 
the  call  of  any  one.    He  never  thought  of  Himself, 

145 


but  was  always  thinking  of  the  Father,  and  always 
having  His  mind,  and  always  thinking  of  others. 
That  was  a  sweet  savor. 

Ver.  3.     **  But  fornication,  and  all  uncleanness,  or 
covetousness,  let  it  not  be  once  named  among  you, 

,  as  becometh  saints."  These  things  that  were  forbid- 
den in  the  ten  commandments,  not  the  first  four,  but 
the  latter  six ;  those  that  pertain  to  man  ;  of  them 
He  now  says,  "  Do  not  these  things."  But  He  does 
not  say  as  in  Ex.  xx.,  **  Thou  shalt  not."  That  puts 
it  in  a  cold  way,  and  man  in  the  flesh  could  not  do 
right.     But  having  told  us  who  we  are,  and  that  we 

■are  just  like  Christ  before  God,  He  forbids  these 
things  that  are  in  the  ten  commandments,  for  it  is 
still  true  that  God  does  not  like  them.  But  He  goes 
further :  ''  Let  them  not  be  even  so  much  as  named 
among  you ! "  To  have  to  name  them  is  defiling,  in- 
volving that  we  would  do  them.  God  has  so  thor- 
oughly taken  us  out  of  the  old  man,  and  associated 
us  with  the  new,  and  made  us  like  Christ,  that  He 
says,  "Not  so  much  as  named  among  you."  Con- 
ceive the  idea  of  their  being  such  a  thing  named  as 
Christ  committing  one  of  these  things !  Why,  you 
would  shudder  at  the  thought.  Think  of  their  being 
such  a  thing  named  as  His  not  coveting,  or  not  steal- 
ing, or  not  lying !  The  very  naming  of  it  is  the  aw- 
fulest  thing.  He  would  have  us,  then,  so  thoroughly 
immaculate  in  thought  and  conduct  that  we  should 
not  even  name  them.     There  is  nothing  that  can  ex- 

'  press  such  perfect  cleanness  as  that.  You  can  see 
why,  not  being  under  the  law,  you  are  vastly  above 
all  this.  What  is  the  rule,  the  standard  ?  **  As  be- 
Cometh  saints."  That  is  more  to  you  and  me  than 
the  ten  commandments  with  their  thunderings  ;  in- 

. finitely  more.  '*As  becometh  saints.''  A  saint  is 
one  separated  unto  God.  It  can  never  be  made  too 
high,  or  too  clean,  or  too  pure. 

lie 


Ver.  4.     "Neither  filthiness  nor  foolish  talking 
nor  jesting,  which  are  not  convenient.  >  but  rather 
giving  of  thanks."    He  speaks  of  certain  things  not 
being  convenient.    It  is  not  a  question  of  consistency 
with  our  profession  simply,  but  of  what  we  are. 
They  are  of  another  life  than  ours.    Is  not  that  a 
marvelous  way  of  putting  it  ?    How  thoroughly  the^'^ 
Holy  Spirit  has  guarded  believers  against  the  neces-  \  ^^^^ 
sity  of  bringing  in  the  ten  commandments.     They 
are  an  offense,  for  the  ten  commandments  have  to 
name  these  things.   The  idea  of  children  of  God  that    ^r'-"^"^ 
are  as  near  to  God  as  Christ  is  having  to  have  these 
things  rung  over  their  heads,  and  in  their  ears  con-    -     *^ 
stantly !    Why,  you  see,  it  is  lowering  the  whole 
character  of  what  we  have,  and  what  we  are  in 
Christ  Jesus.    It  is  an  offense,  in  itself. 

Therefore,  He  says,  giving  it  force  (Ver.  5) :  "For 
this  ye  know,  that  no  whoremonger  nor  unclean 
person  nor  covetous  man,  who  is  an  idolater,  hath 
any  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  of 
God."    That  is  in  the  millennium,  the  kingdom  of  j 
Christ,  and  then  afterward,  the  kingdom  of  God.  L    ,1 
When  God  told  David  that  He  was  going  to  set  up  a  \  I'V^ 
kingdom  under  him,  He  was  looking  forward  to  - 
Christ  reigning ;  and  then  when  it  is  all  to  be  given 
up  to  God. 

Now  in  neither  of  these  is  anything  allowed  that 
is  here  prohibited.  Now  He  says,  "  For  you  know 
that  as  to  the  principles  of  that,  it  was  the  law  first ; 
and  then  afterward  in  the  millennial  times  on  earth 
He  is  going  to  write  the  law  in  their  hearts."  But 
we  are  infinitely  above  that.  There  are  no  series  of 
negatives  in  our  case.  It  is  just  the  opposite.  Not 
only  not  to  steal,  but  to  labor  with  our  hands,  that 
we  may  have  to  give.  We  are  not  only  not  to  fight 
men,  but  we  are  told  to  deal  with  them  in  love.  That 
would  hinder  a  child  of  God  from  going  to  law.    We- 

147 


f- 


Cannot  fight  for  right  here ;  we  belong  to  heaven. 
So  it  goes  all  the  way  through — the  whole  character 
of  it ;  all  that  we  have  and  are  among  men. 

Ver.  6.  * '  Let  no  man  deceive  you  with  vain  words : 
for  because  of  these  things  cometh  the  wrath  of  God 
upon  the  children  of  disobedience."  Here  we  have 
another  thought.  Some  may  say,  1  am  free  from 
the  law.  As  though  they  were  going  to  take  out  a 
license  to  do  wrong  because  they  are  not  under  the 
law.  After  all,  no  matter  what  it  be,  whether  Juda- 
ism, which  was  under  the  law ;  or  the  church,  which 
is  not  under  the  law ;  or  the  millennial  glory,  when 
Christ  is  reigning ;  or  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the 
future ; — ^there  is  one  thing — He  will  never  allow 
these  things  that  the  law  prohibited.  The  wrath  of 
God  came  upon  all  those  that  were  disobedient. 
Those  under  the  law  had  something  to  disobey,  and 
so  they  are  called  children  of  disobedience.  Do  not 
let  anybody  deceive  you  by  saying,  **You  can  do 
things  of  this  kind;  you  are  not  under  the  law." 
God  has  always  put  these  things  under  a  ban.  But 
in  the  new  man  He  has  put  them  further  and  further 
away.  In  Col.  iii.,  without  saying.  Put  away  all 
things  that  come  in  under  the  ten  commandments, 
He  says,  ''Treat  them  as  dead."  Then  He  tells  us 
also  to  put  away  all  these  things  not  mentioned  in 
the  ten  commandments.  We  cannot  be  satisfied 
with  sTmply  liaving  the  law.  We  must  have  all  the 
others.     That  is  life  in  Christ  acting  itself  out. 

Vers.  7,  8.  *'Be  not  ye,  therefore,  partakers  with 
them.  For  ye  were  sometime  darkness,  but  now  are 
ye  light  in  the  Lord  :  walk  as  children  of  light." 
It  is  not  that  we  are  only  brought  into  the  light.  If 
we  were  brought  into  the  light  simply,  we  would 
have  all  these  things  exposed.  But  He  says,  **  Now 
we  are  light  in  the  Lord."  We  are  the  very  sub- 
stance of  light.    We  stand  forth  as  an  expression  of 

U8 


the  righteousness  of  God  through  eternity.  He  has 
dealt  with  us  righteously,  and  has  raised  us  up  anew 
in  Christ,  and  we  stand  as  the  very  expression  of 
light.  Why  ?  Because  we  have  been  so  thoroughly 
exposed.  God  has  gone  down  to  the  very  core  of  our 
nature  and  conduct,  and  put  all  away  in  Christ  cru- 
cified and  risen.  We  are  not  only  in  the  light,  but 
we  are  God's  own  light.  It  is  not  in  ourselves,  we 
are  light  '^  in  the  Lord."  We  are  not  to  be  under  the 
Lord,  as  separated  from  Him,  but  we  are  actually  in 
Him.  We  have  the  same  life  that  He  has,  just  as 
we  had  the  same  life  that  Adam  had.  We  are 
linked  with  Him  in  the  most  intimate  way.  We 
ought,  then,  to  be  as  much  an  expression  of  light 
down  here  in  our  walk  as  Christ  was.  How  do  we 
compare  with  that  ?  We  ought  to  be  just  like  Christ, 
abhorring  evil  in  every  form,  and  showing  out  right- 
eousness and  grace  and  holiness  in  every  act  of  life. 
We  shall  have  plenty  to  confess.  So  it  is,  "  Walk  as 
children  of  light." 

And  then  in  the  parenthesis  He  says  (Ver.  9),  "  For 
the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  in  all  goodness  and  right- 
eousness and  truth."  Kow  the  law  said,  "  Cursed  is 
everyone  that  continueth  not  in  all  things."  Giving 
it  in  its  substance, — "Thou  shalt  love  Jehovah,  thy 
God,  with  all  thy  heart ; "  never  letting  up  on  any- 
thing. And  so  this  is  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  light. 
How  wonderfully  different !  But  does  it  allow  any 
evil  ?  Does  it  for  a  moment  allow  sin  ?  It  is  the 
cleanest  thing  that  God  has  ever  brought  out,  and 
brought  out  in  these  last  times  ;  since  He  has  raised 
up  Christ  from  the  dead.  Here  are  cleanness  and 
holiness  at  last. 

Ver.  10.  "Proving  what  is  acceptable  unto  the 
Lord."  That  is,  proving  practically  what  is  well- 
pleasing  to  the  Lord ;  learning  and  exhibiting  it. 

Vers.  11,  12.     "And  have  no  fellowship  with  the 

149 


unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather  reprove 
them.  For  it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak  of  those 
things  which  are  done  of  them  in  secret."  This 
takes  us  back  to  Chap,  iv.,  Vers.  17,  18,  telling  how 
the  Gentiles  walked.  It  is  a  shame  even  to  think  of 
such.  And  in  Ver.  4  of  this  chapter,  "Neither  filth- 
iness,  nor  foolish  talking,  nor  jesting ; "  the  talking 
and  jesting  that  had  to  do  with  uncleanness.  It  is 
the  character  of  the  ribald  jest.  I  do  not  think  that 
God  in  any  place  dislikes  laughter,  'ffe  means  the 
unclean  jesting 

What,  then,  are  we  to  be  occupied  with  ?  Giving 
thanks.  We  can  do  that  with  as  bright  a  face  as 
the  sun  has  at  noon-day ;  as  cheerful  as  Abraham 
was  in  his  feast  at  the  weaning  of  Isaac ;  as  the 
father  was  when  he  received  home  his  son  and  had 
music  and  danckig  and  the  feast.  He  means  that 
we  shall  be  happy.  But  not  the  foolish  talking  and 
jesting.  To  make  a  man  happy,  I  would  not  send 
him  to  the  theatre.  I  would  get  his  conscience 
purged  before  God,  and  then  his  soul  will  light  up 
and  it  will  be  a  permanent  thing. 

Ver.  13.  **But  all  things  that  are  reproved  are 
made  manifest  by  the  light ;  for  whatsoever  doth 
make  manifest  is  light."  That  is,  brought  out, 
exposed.  That  is  what  the  courts  are  at  when  they 
are  examining  witnesses.  If  a  man  is  guilty,  it  will 
bring  it  out.  The  ligjht  is  that  which  makes  mani- 
fest ;  the  light  is  God's  word  coming  in  and  bringing 
out  what  we  are,  and  what  we  have  done.  *'  What- 
ever makes  manifest  is  light."  There  never  has 
been  such  an  expression  of  light  as  Christ's  own 
death  down  here,  for  it  showed  God's  hatred  of  sin 
and  love  for  us. 

Ver.  14.  "  Wherefore  He  saith,  Awake,  thou  that 
sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall 
give  thee  light."    It  is  using  this  quotation  to  illus- 


trate  the  point.  Light  has  come,  and  now  it  is  time 
to  shine  in  the  light  all  the  time.  It  is  not  groping 
toward  the  light,  but  the  light  has  come.  Every- 
thing has  been  looked  at  thoroughly,  and  now  stand 
in  that  judgment.  Now  it  is  for  the  heart  to  go  out 
in  its  full  liberty  and  delight  in  Christ.  The  Christ- 
ian is  a  light  in  the  world.  The  more  we  walk  in 
Christ  the  more  we  shall  be  misapprehended.  "  Be- 
hold what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed 
upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  children  of  God  ; 
and  such  we  are.  For  this  cause  the  world  knoweth 
us  not,  because  it  knew  Him  not."  '*If  then  ye 
were  raised  together  with  Christ,  seek  the  things 
that  are  above,  where  Christ  is  seated  on  the  right 
hand  of  God.  Set  your  mind  on  the  things  that  are 
above,  not  on  the  things  that  are  upon  the  earth. 
For  ye  died,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 
Our  life  is  a  hidden  thing.  The  more  we  walk  in  the 
light,  the  more  we  shall  not  be  known.  People  can 
tell,  of  course,  whether  I  am  honest  or  kind.  But  as 
to  the  light,  it  is  just  total  separation,  in  which  I 
recognize  that  I  have  been  cut  off  from  the  best 
things  in  the  world,— those  that  are  not  sin.  A  mul- 
titude of  people  would  give  up  the  worst  kind  of 
things,  but  some  of  the  nice  things  we  would  like  to 
take.  They  would  take  those  things  that  have  to  do 
with  culture  and  refinement  and  wealth.  They  hope 
to  improve  man.  They  would  enter  into  politics  if 
they  were  clean.  But  that  is  not  what  God  says. 
Christ  says,  "You  are  not  of  the  world.  Therefore 
the  world  hates  you."  This  quotation  is  speaking  of 
the  time  when  Christ  should  come,  but  it  is  quoted 
for  our  benefit.  It  is  to  illustrate  what  we  have.  It 
is  looking  down  to  the  millennial  day  for  Judah,  but 
comes  to  us  and  says,  "'Your  light  is  come;  now, 
you  shine  I " 
Ver.  15.     *'  See  that  ye  walk  circumspectly,  not  as 


fools,  but  as  wise.'*  The  whole  matter  has  been  laid 
out  before  us  in  the  preceding  verses,  and  this  is  the 
word  of  wisdom.  When  one  understands  what  wis- 
dom is  defined  to  be  in  First  Cor. ,  i.  30,  even  right- 
eousness, sanctification,  and  redemption,  one  can 
see  how  we  ought  to  walk  in  wisdom.  It  involves 
all  these  things  ;  redemption  going  on,  of  course,  to 
the  deliverance  of  the  body,  when  we  shall  be  with 
Christ  forever. 

Now,  knowing  ourselves  thus,  and  knowing  that 
God  has  thus  acted  in  Christ  toward  us,  it  becomes 
the  standard,  the  appeal  in  regard  to  our  walk.  And 
you  see  what  an  appeal  it  is.  Walk  according  to  the 
righteousness  that  is  shown  in  Christ  Jesus  in  our 
being  raised  up  from  the  dead.  Walk  according  to 
that  infinite  redemption,  which  we  are  sharing  and 
shall  share.  What  tenderness,  what  sweetness  and 
simplicity,  and  what  thorough  heartiness  toward  all 
that  are  about  us !  We  see  that  there  is  nothing 
grasps  us  more  closely  than  the  truth  that  is  given 
in  Ephesians;  and  the  higher  the  truth,  the  more 
does  it  demand,  practically,  in  living.  Those  who 
are  constantly  talking  about  the  wilderness  and 
wilderness  truth,  but  little  apprehend  the  power  of 
heavenly  truth  to  make  a  walk  and  to  form  man- 
ners.    Here  we  have  it,  then,  in  a  general  way. 

Ver.  16.     *^  Redeeming  the  time,  because  the  days 

are  evil."    Be  wise,  then,  buying  up  opportunities. 

Why,  it  would  make  every  child  of  God  as  rich  in 

blessing  as  the  sun  is,  carrying  life  and  light  and 

^  heat  with  us  everywhere.     How  the  world  would  be 

'■  absolutely  blessed  were  God's  children  taking  up  the 

word  to  act  by  it,  instead  of  this  Jewish  position  that 

they  have  taken,  which  has  corrupted  them  so  that 

they  are  not  up  to  even  the  Jewish  standard.    When 

,any  get  out  of  place,  they  always  act  the  worst 

i  Angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate, — what  did 

159 


they  become  ?  The  very  worst  in  conduct.  The 
church  that  drops  down  from  its  place  becomes  the 
lowest  and  meanest  thing  there  is  ;  going  beyond 
Israel  in  its  apostasy,  and  continually  referring  to 
the  law,  or  to  some  wilderness  truth.  Our  standard 
is  heavenly  truth.  And  that  would  exact  from  me 
more  than  religion  could,  in  life  and  cleanness  of^ 
conversation  and  habit. 

Ver.  17.  "Wherefore  be  not  unwise,  but  under- 
standing what  the  will  of  the  Lord  is."  The  more  we 
walk  in  the  truth,  the  more  we  shall  come  to  un- 
derstand what  that  will  is.  **  If  any  man  will  to  do 
His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be 
of  God. "  And  in  Col.  i. ,  "  Fruitful  to  every  good  word 
and  work,"  and  then  "  increasing  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  God."  We  need  never  be  in  darkness,  and 
need  never  appeal  to  the  ten  commandments,  nor 
need  any  worldly  methods^of  men.  We  have  the 
highest  ideal  of  life  by  having  the  highest  truth  in 
regard  to  our  own  place  in  the  glory  and  for  it. 

Ver.  18.  *' And  be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein 
is  excess ;  but  be  filled  with  the  Spirit."  It  is  the 
Holy  Spirit  occupying  us,  and  not  the  spirit  of  the 
world,  which  would  be  expressed  by  wine,  because 
wine  is  the  expression  of  joy,  both  of  God  and  of 
men.  It  means  here  anything  that  is  simply  human  1 
joy, — the  joy  of  the  first  man.  Occupation  with  the 
things  of  the  world  would  be  to  be  drunken  with 
wine.  And  literally,  it  would  have  us  know  that  we 
are  not  to  be  drunken,  but  are  to  let  the  Holy  Spirit 
permeate  us  everywhere  as  liquor  permeates  a  man's 
body,  just  controlling  a  man,  and  making  him  to, 
act  in  an  unnatural  way.  So  let  the  Holy  Spirit' 
direct  us,  and  let  Him  have  full  place.  Let  us  be 
full  of  Him,  yielding  to  Him  in  everything. 

Ver.  19.     ''Speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms  and 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singing   and   making 

t58 


melody  in  your  heart  to  the  Lord.'*  Then,  instead 
of  all  this  foolish  conversation  or  trifling  and  worldly 
wisdom  and  intercourse,  speaking  to  each  other  in 
psalms  and  hymns.  What  a  wonderful  way  that  is  ! 
The  very  language  of  heaven !  And  speaking  in 
that  tone,  the  tone  of  worship  and  praise,  the  tone 
of  delight  in  God,  the  tone  of  self -emptiness,  because 
the  worship  would  involve  self-emptiness,  and  being 
filled  with  God.  It  is  speaking  in  that  tone.  I  need 
not  sing  to  my  brother,  necessarily,  but  it  is  speak- 
ing in  the  tone  of  the  psalm  and  hymn,  the  highest 
way  of  expression.  We  shall  never  find  a  weakness 
in  the  truth  that  God  gives.  We  shall  never  find  a 
failing  there.  It  will  always  be  unfolding.  Let  us 
but  converse  in  the  thoughts  of  God,  and  whither  are 
we  led  ?  I  have  seen  dear  children  of  God  commu- 
nicating to  each  other  about  Christ's  Coming,  until 
their  faces  glowed  with  delight.  This  is  psalms  and 
hymns.  Then,  as  the  psalm  and  hymn  are  really 
the  highest  fruitage  of  literature,  so  we  take  the 
highest  form  of  expression  to  communicate  to  each 
other  the  things  of  God  and  of  Christ. 

Then  He  adds  :  *'  Singing  and  making  melody  to 
the  Lord."  Of  course  we  see  how  rich  it  would  be 
in  contrast  with  all  that  is  going  on  that  is  called 
singing  and  worship ;  singing  simply  to  please  the 
ear  and  to  gratify  man's  taste.  How  much  singing 
for  man,  and  how  little  for  God  !  Here,  it  is  singing 
and'making  melody  in  your  hearts  unto  the  Lord. 
It  does  not  make  any  difference  what  kind  of  a  voice 
we  have,  or  whether  we  can  keep  time  or  tune.  It 
is  the  occupation  with  Him  who  is  the  highest  in  the 
glory.  It  is  the  matchless  fact  for  us  that  we  are 
brought  into  all  these  things  that  are  dearest  to  Him, 
and  according  to  His  own  delight. 

Q.  Would  it  be  wrong  to  sing  some  of  those  splen- 
did passages  in  the  Creation  or  Messiah  ? 

li)4 


A.  It  is  never  meant  for  God.     Why  should  we ) 
ever  have  any  such  thought  ?    It  has  no  more  to  do         ^ 
with  God  than  singing  Pinafore  or  the  Mikado.  i^/A^ 

Q.  But  these  are  not  based  on  a  good  thing.  j 

A.  God's  good  things  are  not  man's  good  things. 
It  is  not  quality  of  voice  or  tone.  Let  God  measure 
and  give  the  standard  of  the  goodness,  then.  The 
standard  is  singing  and  making  melody  in  your 
hearts.  The  standard  of  everything  for  God  is 
Christ.  The  standard  of  our  songs  must  be  Christ 
in  the  glory.  Now,  there  is  no  good  thing  short  of 
that  risen  man.  We  can  sing  better  when  we  sing 
in  time,  of  course ;  I  am  a  man,  and  it  pleases  me. 
But  what  has  that  to  do  with  it  ?  We  could  not  sing 
together  without  time  and  tune.  We  must  have  a 
melody  to  sing ;  and  there  would  be  the  harmony 
because  there  are  different  voices.  But  if  it  is  done 
simply  as  a  matter  of  taste,  that  is  all  there  is  of 
it.  Man  gets  pleased,  and  God  is  left  out  of  the\ 
case.  ' 

We  have  the  Holy  Spirit  and  God  dwelling  in  us 
and  everything  given,  that  the  man  of  God  may  be 
perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works, 
and  we  are  to  go  on,  and  get  more  and  more 
informed ;  yet  it  is  the  same  book.  We  will  see 
Him  more  and  more  as  we  see  Him  in  this  book. 
We  do  not  get  a  single  thing  by  ourselves  ;  every- 
thing by  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  is  the  earnest  of  our 
inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased 
possession.  First  Cor.  ii.  is  our  legacy,  a  full  revela- 
tion of  the  truth.  There  we  have  the  Holy  Spirit 
given  us  that  we  might  know  these  things,  and  all 
the  deep  things  of  God.  And  further  along  in  Cor., 
''All  things  are  yours,"  ''height,  depth,  and  every- 
thing." And  we  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's. 
Then  we  must  not  refer  these  things  to  the  future. 
The  Holy  Spirit  associates  the  present  with  all  the 


future,  th©  Holy  Spirit  making  all  true  to  us  because 
it  is  all  Christ's. 

Q.  Among  the  all  things  is  death.  What  does  it 
mean  ? 

A.  We  have  conquered  it  and  are  overcomers 
there.  In  Rom.  viii.  we  have,  *'  For  I  am  persuaded 
that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  princi- 
palities, nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  Nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creat- 
ure, shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  The  very  first 
thing  mentioned  is  death. 

You  would  have  to  be  very  careful  that  you  use 
words  worthy  of  Him.  Suppose  you  sing,  "I  am 
trying  to  climb  up  Zion's  hill."  Do  you  think  there 
is  any  worship  in  that  ?  The  finest  singing  that  I 
ever  knew  in  any  church  was  conducted  by  an  in- 
fidel. That  did  not  make  them  any  the  less  fine 
singers.  They  do  it  better  than  those  that  are  saved. 
Edwin  Booth  could  read  those  things  so  that  it  would 
bring  tears.  These  men  make  it  the  study  of  their 
lives  to  get  the  expression  and  tone.  There  was 
plenty  of  it  last  Sunday,  doubtless,  and  the  congre- 
gations were  very  greatly  impressed  and  pleased, 
and  probably  some  of  the  prayers  were  of  the  same 
kind  ;  but  the  impressiveness  was  for  man. 

"  Unto  th©  Lord  ! "  That  stands  above  us  yet ; 
and  it  is  richer  than  anything  we  have  said  or  have 
thought.  It  is  a  very  sweet  close  of  what  we  have 
had  in  these  chapters  ;  for  now  we  are  going  into  a 
new  subject  altogether. 

Ver.  20.  '*  Giving  thanks  always  for  all  things 
unto  God  and  the  Father,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  This  is  according  to  the  ton©  of  the 
whole  book,  "  our  God  and  Father."  Let  us  speak  a 
little  more  about  giving  thanks,  because  we  have 
her©  the  key  to  alL    It  is  "  In  the  name  of  the  Lord 


Jesus  Christ."    I  question  whether  in  the  name  o 
Handel  and  Haydn  and  all  these  that  they  have  i 
their  chants  and  their  carols  and  their  various  song^. 
— whether  that  means  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.     It  is  giving  thanks  in  the  name  of  a  man. 
But  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  away  up  there,  ac- 
cording to  what  we  are  in  Christ.    If  we  were  to 
admit  this  fleshly  singing,  it  would  lower  the  tone, 
and  we  would  all  feel  it.     But  when  we  come  to 
the  end,  it  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
We  are  standing  before  God  just  as  He  is.     We  are  i 
as  near  and  as  dear  to  God  as  He  is.     And  now  in 
that  life  and  standing  we  get  this.     It  has  nothing 
to  do  with  voices  any  more  than  it  has  to  do  with, 
the  violin  or  trombone  or  organ.     You  cannot  make, 
melody  to  the  Lord  with  any  instruments  at  all.     If; 
you  do,  you  go  back  into  Judaism.     The  organ  and  ; 
the  violin  and  the  harp  and  the  instrument  with  ten  '. 
strings  belong  back  there.  • 

Ver.  21.  "Submitting  yourselves  one  to  another 
in  the  fear  of  God."  He  that  cometh  from  above  is 
above  all ;  and  yet  Christ,  speaking  of  Himself,  said, 
"  I  am  among  you  as  one  who  serves."  We  have  in 
Phil,  ii.,  *'  He  that  was  in  the  form  of  God  emptied 
Himself  and  took  the  form  of  a  servant."  He  came 
to  the  lowest  rank  of  all.  In  Eph. ,  to  correspond  to 
this,  we  have  our  place  in  Christ  Jesus  in  the  heav- 
enly places,  and  all  the  glories  are  before  us  and  we 
are  at  home  in  that,  and  now  for  a  recompense,  be 
empty.  "Subjecting  yourselves  one  to  another," 
corresponds  with  Christ's  own  doing.  What  we 
were  as  sinners  is  not  in  question  ;  we  do  not  empty 
ourselves  of  that.  The  cross  has  taken  away  all 
that  we  were.  But  now  we  come  down,  because  we 
are  so  high  in  our  place  and  belong  in  the  glory  and 
are  ready  for  anything.  Here,  He  begins  with  the 
natural^  fixed  relationships. 

^5? 


Ver.  22.  "Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your 
own  husbands,  as  unto  the  Lord."  It  begins  with 
the  one  that  is  the  sweetest  and  the  most  precious, 
the  nearest,  the  expression  of  the  heart  of  God.  In 
the  beginning,  in  that  which  was  pronounced  upon 
Eve,  we  see  how  she  was  cast  upon  God  in  a  pecu- 
liar way,  and  this  is  spoken  of  in  1  Tim.  ii.  15,  "She 
shall  be  saved  in  child-bearing."  How  sweet  it  is, 
and  how  He  thinks  of  her !  God  never  forgets  these 
things.  He  never  forgets  what  Eve  brought  into 
the  world,  and  He  never  forgets  Eve's  condition, 
nor  that  of  the  daughters  of  Eve.  He  gives  her  the 
privilege  of  first  of  all  being  spoken  to  of  the  sweet- 
est thing, — "Wives,  be  in  subjection."  That  is  the 
highest  thing  there  is,  to  be  in  subjection.  He  tells 
all  of  us  to  be  subject.  The  wife  is  to  be  no  more 
subject  than  every  other  relationship  calls  for,  but 
she  is  specially  in  subjection  to  her  husband.  How  ? 
As  unto  the  Lord.  It  does  not  make  any  difference 
what  the  husband  is,  for  if  it  is  unto  the  Lord,  there 
is  just  the  place  for  her  to  show  it.  Then  the  Holy 
Spirit  enters  into  the  fact  that  here  there  is  a  setting 
forth  of  the  relationship  of  Christ  to  the  church. 

Vers.  23,  24.  "  For  the  husband  is  the  head  of  the 
wife,  even  as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church ;  and 
He  is  the  Saviour  of  the  body.  Therefore,  as  the 
church  is  subject  unto  Christ,  so  let  the  wives  be 
subject  to  thf-ir  own  husbands  in  everything."  The 
husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife  as  Christ  is  the  head 
of  the  church.  You  see  at  once  what  an  appeal  that 
would  be  to  the  wife.  Of  course,  these  are  all  chil- 
dren of  God.  He  is  not  addressing  a  wife  that  is 
unsaved.  How  the  wife  is  exalted  when  she  is  told, 
You  are  occupying  toward  your  husband  a  position 
that  is  parallel  with  the  relationship  that  the  church 
has  with  Christ ;  and  as  Christ  is  the  Head  of  the 
(jhurch,  your  husband  is  your  head.    Be  in  subjeC' 


tion  as  the  church  is  to  Christ.    He  says,  *'In  all 

things."  Then,  Christ  being  Head  of  the  church, 
He  is  also  the  Saviour  of  the  body.  That  means  her 
body  ;  the  very  thing  that  the  wifely  relationship  is 
for.  He  will  deliver  her  through  her  own  distinctive 
trial  as  wife.     Maternity  is  what  is  referred  to  here. 

Then  the  address  to  the  husbands.  Ver.  25.  "  Hus- 
bands, love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also  loved  the 
church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it."  The  wife  being 
cast  thus  into  her  relation  to  her  husband,  how  must 
the  husband  take  it  up  ?  If  the  wife  is  to  be  subject 
to  him  as  th<»  church  is  subject  to  Christ,  he  must 
act  Christ.  He  mu^t  have  no  other  model  or  prin- 
ciple in  relation  to  her  than  just  such  as  Christ  has 
toward  the  church.  *' Husbands,  love  your  wives, 
even  as  Christ  loved  the  church. ^^  Why,  it  makes 
him  a  servant.  The  woman  being  in  subjection  does 
not  make  her  a  servant.  There  is  no  such  thought 
as  that  in  Scripture.  But  I  find  that  the  highest 
servant  in  the  universe  is  Christ  Himself,  serving 
the  church.  God  serves.  When  Christ  said,  "My 
Father  worketh  and  I  work,"  He  is  telling  about 
serving.  Did  He  not  give  Himself  up  in  order  to 
get  the  church  ?  And  then  when  He  gets  it.  He  is 
serving  it  all  the  time.  A  man  is  therefore  to  serve 
his  wife.  Why,  of  course,  that  is  his  place ;  doing 
all  for  her.  Christ  loved  the  church,  and  gave  Him- 
self up  for  her.  Is  not  that  the  most  perfect  service 
that  can  be  named  ?  Then,  that  He  might  set  her 
apart  to  Himself. 

Ver.  26.  "That  He  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it 
with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word."  There  is 
a  daily  and  hourly  service.  Looking  after  her  con- 
duct, cleansing  according  to  John  xiii.  and  First 
John  i.  6-ii.  2. 

Ver.  27.  "  That  He  might  present  it  to  Himself  a 
glorious  church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any 

159 


such  thing ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish."  If  He  is  looking  after  every  spot  and 
wrinkle,  is  not  that  a  perpetual  service  ? 

Wow  see  what  is  the  rule  for  the  husband  with 
relation  to  his  wife.  There  is  not  a  word  about, 
Husbands,  rule  your  wives,  or  command  your  wives, 
any  more  than  there  is.  Strike  your  wives,  or  scold 
your  wives.  It  is  the  most  unspiritual  and  unnatu- 
ral that  these  things  should  be.  There  is  something 
higher  and  sweeter  and  richer  than  all  these  things. 
The  Christian  household  is  to  be  according  to  the 
pattern  shown  in  the  heavens.  And  the  Lord  dis- 
closes His  own  house  and  its  exquisite  intimacies  as 
the  model.  If  to  us  to  live  were  Christ,  how  natural 
this  would  be.  The  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  Rev. 
xix.,  will  disclose  how  glorious  and  without  spot  or 
wrinkle  is  the  church  through  His  love  and  service. 
So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives. 

Then,  to  give  it  even  more  intimately,  it  says,  Ver. 
28,  "  So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives  as  their  own 
bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  himself."  A 
man  carries  his  body  with  him  always,  and  is  always 
looking  after  it.  It  is  not  selfishness,  it  is  self -pro- 
tection. He  must  feed  that  body,  and  give  it  rest 
and  labor  and  exercise.  He  must  cleanse  it  daily. 
He  must  see  to  it  in  sickness  and  in  health,  and  he  is 
charged  with  it  all  the  time.  So  ought  the  husband 
to  love  his  wife. 

Vers.  29-31.  "  For  no  man  ever  yet  hated  his  own 
flesh,  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it,  even  as  the 
Lord  the  church  :  For  we  are  members  of  His  body, 
of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones.  For  this  cause  shall 
a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother  and  shall  be 
joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  one 
flesh."  Is  there  a  sweeter  section  to  be  found  in 
the  book  than  this  ?  He  has  gone  on  in  Chap.  iv.  to 
tell  us  not  to  steal  and  not  to  lie  and  all  those  things 

160 


that  are  not  even  to  be  named  among  us  as  becometh 
saints,  and  He  has  told  us  to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit, 
but  now  He  gives  us  the  best— to  be  subject  one  to 
another.  And  the  husband's  subjection  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  is  that  he  is  acting  the  Lord  Jesus  toward  his 
wife.  Follow  it  step  by  step.  It  is  most  wondrously 
sweet.  And  now  we  get  the  thought  that,  after 
all,  that  peculiar  symbol  of  love  and  tenderness  and 
care  actually  represents  Christ's  care  for  the  church. 
Why,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  brings  it  home  to  us  in 
the  most  tender  way,  in  a  way  to  command  our 
hearts.  Does  Christ  actually  love  us  as  one  loves 
his  wife  ?  A  man  will  cross  the  continent  just  to 
get  a  glimpse  of  her.  Does  Christ  care  for  us  that 
way  ?  And  a  man's  life  is  rounded  up  and  filled  up 
and  made  sweet  by  his  wife.  Is  that  the  way  Christ 
feels  toward  the  church  ?    Is  it  not  precious  ? 

There  are  seven  things  told :  Christ  loved  the 
church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it  that  He  might 
sanctify  it  and  cleanse  it  by  the  washing  of  water 
by  the  word ;  that  He  might  present  it^to  Himself  a 
glorious  church,  without  spot  or  wrinkle ;  th^n  He 
nourishes  it  and  cherishes  it.  There  we  have  the 
fullness  of  Christ's  care  for  the  church. 

Q.  Is  that  collectively  ? 

A.  Yes.  Well,  He  does  it  individually,  too.  Of 
course  washing  the  feet  is  individual.  He  cleanses 
bv  the  word.  But  the  love  is  toward  the  whole,  as 
well. 

Now  how  precious  that  makes  every  member  of 
Christ's  body  to  us ;  to  look  upon  each  member  of 
Christ's  body  as  an  object  of  this  intense  love  and 
constant  care  and  this  exquisite  enjoyment  on  the 
part  of  Christ.  A  wonderful  model  we  have  in  Solo- 
mon's Song.  There  the  lover,  Christ,  is  always  seen 
looking  at  and  talking  to  the  beloved  one,  the  one 
whom  He  calls  His  love.     He  never  speaks  to  any- 

161 


body  else.  She  is  the  one  that  talks  to  others,  but 
He  never  does.  There  is  progression  on  her  part, 
first  saying,  ''My  Beloved  is  mine,"  and  after  a 
while,  "My  Beloved  is  mine  and  I  am  His."  And 
in  the  end  she  says,  as  the  result  of  all  that  she  has 
gone  through,  "  I  am  my  Beloved's  and  His  desire  is 
toward  me."  That  was  true  in  the  beginning,  but 
she  did  not  learn  it  until  the  end.  That  is  the  pro- 
gress in  regard  to  hor.  There  is  no  progress  in  Him, 
because  He  is  perfect  from  the  beginning. 

And  so  again  also  with  reference  to  ourselves  :  "  I 
am  black  but  comely ;"  as  the  curtains  of  Solomon 
were  comely,  and  the  tents  of  Kedar  were  black. 
Black  in  ourselves  but  comely  to  Him,  because  of 
His  eyes  that  can  see  comeliness.     He  gathers  us  to 
Himself  and  makes  us  fair  for  Himself,  without  spot 
or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing.     This  is  a  very  sweet 
thing  to  come  in  here.     We  have  been  talking  so 
much  about  God's  love.    Ephesians  occupies  us  with 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
with  God's  purposes  and  the  carrying  out  of  them, 
and  then  we  have  had  the  exceeding  riches  of  His 
grace.     "W  e  have  had  Him  rich  in  mercy,  and  now 
after  all  is  done,  and  the  church  is  really  seen  per- 
fected, she  is  seen  as  a  bride,  and  there  is  a  Bride- 
groom, and  then  they  are  looked  at  together ;  and 
now  we  have  love  that  is'more  tender  and  exquisite, 
— more  a  personal  relationship  than  the  other.    Here 
is  that  which  comes  right  along  in  living,  we  living 
together  with  Christ.     The  church  is  the  object  of 
His  desire.     He  saw  it,  and  His  whole  heart  being 
set  on  it,  God  gave  it  to  Him.   As  Adam  came  down 
to  Eve's  place,  so  Christ  came  down  that  He  might 
have  her,  so  entranced  was  He  with  her  beauty  ; 

ijust  as  the  Bridegroom  pleads  in  Solomon's  Song, 

\*'  Let  me  look  upon  thy  face  ! " 
j  It  would  be  a  very  nice  thing  if  husbands  were 

i«8 


more  occupied  with  telling  their  wives  how  precious 
they  are  to  them,  ever  wooing  them,  instead  of  having 
it  taken  as  a  matter  of  course  that  they  love  them. 
You  must  have  a  selfish  heart  if  you  cannot  tell  her 
over  and  over  again  what  she  is  to  you.  We  have  a 
model,  at  any  rate. 

Vers.  32,  33.  *'This  is  a  great  mystery;  but  I 
speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  church.  Neverthe- 
less, let  every  one  of  you  in  particular  so  love  his 
wife  even  as  himself :  and  the  wife  see  that  she  rev- 
erence her  husband."  Lest  we  should  think  that  the 
whole  thing  was  only  a  figure  of  Christ  and  the 
church,  He  comes  back  to  it  and  says,  You  hus- 
bands, love  your  wives  in  that  way.  And  "Wives, 
reverence  your  husbands."  It  has  not  said  a  word 
about  the  wife  loving  the  husband,  and  yet  it  is  the 
charge  to  the  husband  that  he  love  his  wife.  It 
being  a  picture  of  the  love  of  Christ  to  the  church, 
the  love  of  the  church  to  Christ  is  not  in  question. 
The  love  of  Christ  to  the  church  is  the  great  thing. 
The  whole  dispensation  in  which  we  are  is  for  tell- 
ing out  God's  love.  The  former  dispensation  was, 
"Thou  shalt  love  God."  The  present  one  is,  "Be- 
hold what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  be-\ 
stowed."  It  is  a  false  thing  to  be  saying,  "Thou J 
shalt  love  God."  It  will  not  do  to  repeat  it  and  say,; 
" Hear  also  what  our  Lord  Jesus  hath  said:  Thou^ 
shalt  love  God,"  etc.  He  has  not  said  it  to  the, 
church.  He  was  repeating  it  in  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion of  a  Jew.  God  is  taking  time  now  to  show  out 
His  love,  and  Christ's  love  is  brought  out.  And  it 
seems  the  Father  is  delighting,  when  He  thus  places 
Christ  and  the  church  together,  to  say,  "It  was  not 
good  that  He  should  be  alone  ;  I  make  one  meet  for 
Him,  and  to  help  Him."  What  a  help  the  church  is 
to  Christ,  that  it  should  be  the  receptacle  of  all  the 
love  that  He  has  in  Him,  and  all  the  patience,  and 

163 


all  the  service.  I  find  no  thought  in  Scripture  of 
Christ  devoting  Himself  to  the  sinner.  It  is  not  said 
that  Christ  loves  the  sinner  or  loves  the  world.  He 
loves  the  church.  *'  God  so  loved  the  world," — hut 
it  does  not  say  that  Christ  loved  the  world.  It  is  His 
heart  on  His  own.  And  thus  they  are  shut  up  to- 
gether, Christ  and  the  church.  How  complete  the 
household  with  husband  and  wife.  They  form  a 
household  of  their  own.  We  all  know  it.  We  retire 
and  leave  them.     They  do  not  need  our  company. 

How  complete  this  is  !  The  glory  shall  unfold  it, 
and  the  heart  should  take  it  up  now.  We  little  think 
how  much  we  are  valued ;  of  what  value  to  Christ ! 
Christ  would  be  bereaved  without  one  of  us.  And 
when  the  church  gets  down  from  her  place  and  gives 
herself  to  other  loves,  what  an  awful  thing  it  is  ! 
When  that  which  was  so  much  loved  by  Him  is 
spoken  to  on  the  ground  that  she  has  left  her  first 
love  and  has  become  the  unchaste  one,  and  is  that 
one  to  be  driven  out  of  society,  and  will  be,  too,  it 
becomes  all  the  more  alarming  in  its  character. 

Kow  there  is  no  cold  treatment  of  this  husband  to 
his  wife.  There  is  nothing  cold  or  formal,— nothing 
as  a  matter  of  course.  There  is  intense  devotion. 
All  that  is  in  Him  is  at  her  behest.  It  is  for  her. 
A  woman  who  has  married  a  child  of  God,  who  is 
subject  to  the  word,  must  know  that  she  is  as  wealthy 
as  it  is  possible  to  be  in  this  universe.  She  can  say, 
There  is  Christ  loving  the  church,  and  giving  Him- 
self for  it  all  the  time,  and  my  husband  is  said  to  be 
that !  Then  she  would  delight  to  put  herself  under 
that  hand  and  say,  I  am  subject ;  I  am  delighted  to 
be  subject  to  him,  and  he  subject  to  the  Head.  It 
would  come  in  as  the  most  exquisite  of  delights 
always.  *'For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his 
father  and  mother  and  be  joined  unto  liis  wife,  and 
they  two  shall  be  one  flesh."    We  have  Christ  as  the 

16i 


model  for  that.  Christ  left  the  very  heavens  to  get  ^ 
His  wife.  He  left  Israel,  His  natural  mother  on  the  ! 
earth,  and  said,  "  Who  is  my  mother  ?"  He  denied  : 
her  and  turned  to  the  church.  He  has  come  out 
from  Israel  as  a  man  leaves  his  mother's  house,  and  ; 
has  gone  and  taken  up  the  church.  Now  He  saySj 
"  A  man  cleaves  to  his  wife,  and  all  other  things  are 
in  subjection  to  that."  Why  ?  A  man's  wife  is  him- 
self. He  may  owe  allegiance  to  his  father  and  mother, 
but  he  is  really  one  with  his  wife.  That  is  the  reason 
the  word  about  the  unequal  yoke  (Second  Cor.  vi.) 
does  not  look  at  that.  A  yoke  is  to  keep  people  to- 
gether. If  that  is  all  there  is  between  you  and  your 
wife,  it  is  a  strange  thing.  It  took  the  two  to  make 
one.  God  formed  Adam,  and  he  was  both  male  and 
female.  He  took  out  of  him  the  woman.  There  they 
stood  apart.  But  they  are  to  be  together,  to  complete 
the  man.  God  might  have  kept  them  together  as 
one,  but  He  took  them  apart  that  they  might  show 
out  what  Christ  is ;  that  man  having  gotten  away 
from  God,  Christ  should  come  down  and  take  form, 
and  so  take  us  up,  and  the  sentence  is  now  that  the 
heart  may  have  it  as  a  matter  of  intelligence.  Hus- 
band and  wife  can  thus  take  it  up  in  the  intelligence 
of  God's  love.  Instead  of  being  necessarily  one,  they 
are  one  by  being  brought  together  heart  to  heart. 

Now  one  other  little  thought.  Tlie  more  you  and 
I  are  taught  in  the  word,  the  more  we  shall  find  that 
the  family  is  the  place  to  show  it  in;  the  more 
precious  the  relationship  becomes,  the  more  the  love 
will  be  renewed  every  morning.  You  are  not  living 
on  anything  stale.  You  are  not  wearing  the  love 
out  if  you  learn  from  the  word.  There  is  not 
any  true  sweetness  in  the  natural  man  or  the 
natural  woman;  but  there  is  everything  when 
they  are  both  children  of  God,  and  going  on 
with  everything  with  Christ.     He  is  not  talking  to 

X6o 


the  husband  and  wife  outside  of  the  Assembly.  f*oor 
things,  they  must  do  the  best  they  can.  He  is  talk- 
ing to  His  own. 

Then,  let  us  take  up  this  last  verse  in  its  fullness. 
"  Let  every  one  of  you  in  particular  so  love  his  wife 
even  as  himself,  and  the  wife  see  that  she  reverence 
her  husband."  You  cannot  get  too  high  a  conception 
or  impression  of  the  relationship  of  Christ  to  the 
church.  So,  then,  it  is  for  us  to  keep  up  to  it.  If 
any  husband  ever  snarls  at  his  wife  or  says  a  cross 
word,  let  him  confess  it  to  God  and  to  her  right 
away,  for  that  is  not  loving  the  wife  as  Christ  loves 
the  church.  Let  him  bring  God's  word  and  not  his 
word.  And  then,  what  is  above,  to  cherish  and 
bring  her  into  the  place,  but  not  to  man's  will.  That 
is  not  the  model  at  all.  The  model  is  Christ's  love, 
and  not  human  love.  Now  see  that  you  do  it.  And 
if  a  man  never  goes  out  and  says  a  word  for  God, 
nor  writes  a  letter  to  plead  with  some  sinner  to  be 
saved,  and  if  he  never  makes  any  display  whatever, 
if  he  is  acting  toward  his  wife  as  Christ  acted  toward 
the  church,  he  will  do  more  than  a  great  deal  of  the 
testimony  that  is  going  on  in  the  churches.  As 
children  of  God  we  will  obey.  We  have  nothing  to 
do  with  won't  or  will  when  it  comes  to  the  things 
that  God  tells.  We  have  had  some  very  wonderful 
statements  in  this  book  of  Ephesians,  and  it  is  a  pity 
if  when  it  comes  home  we  say.  But  suppose  you  can 
and  will  not  ? 

Q.  Are  we  not  still  in  the  flesh  ? 

A.  No.  The  word  says  we  are  not.  We  are  in  the 
body  but  not  in  the  flesh. 

Q.  Is  there  any  man  that  lives  that  does  not  snarl 
once  in  a  while  ? 

A.  He  has  no  business  to  do  so.  No  man  is  acting 
at  all  as  a  Christian  who  will  expose  his  wife  or  talk 
about  her  faults.   Cover  them  a  thousand  miles  deep. 

166 


Nobody  has  a  right  to  know  anything  about  a  wife*s 
failures  except  himself.  It  is  not  loving  as  Christ 
loved  th<j(  church.  Christ  exposes  the  church  to  her- 
self but  not  to  the  world.  A  man  should  marry  a 
wife  to  serve  her,  to  bless  her,  to  enrich  her,  to  free 
her,  to  glorify  her.  He  may  have  little  opportunity 
of  other  service,  but  this  service,  as  unto  the  Lord,  is 
ever  grand  and  unique  and  wonderful.  The  true  life 
of  both  man  and  woman,  as  such,  comes  out  in  this 
relationship  when  made  one,  and  each  has  the  choicest 
opportunity  of  adorning  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  Let 
each  take  up  home-life  anew  in  the  presence  of  this 
love  of  Christ. 

"  No  man  hates  his  own  body,  but  nourishes  it  as 
Christ  the  church."  Christ  does  not  expose  the 
church.  A  man  does  not  go  into  the  street  and  ex- 
pose his  own  body  ;  no  more  should  he  expose  his 
wife.  It  may  be  that  sometimes  the  wife  may  not 
be  all  that  the  husband  would  like  her  to  be,  but  he 
has  no  business  to  expose  her.  That  is  not  loving  as 
Christ  loves  the  church.  Here  we  learn  these  two 
things,  that  the  church  is  His  Bride  and  His  Body, 
and  we  have  all  these  wonderful  thoughts  in  regard 
to  it.    **  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  church."   f 

167 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Now  we  come  to  the  next  relationship,  parents  and 
children.  Ver.  1.  *'  Children,  obey  your  parents  in 
the  Lord:  for  this  is  right."  "In  the  Lord."  That 
is  the  key  to  it  all.  Suppose  a  parent  is  bad  ;  he  is 
to  be  obeyed  then  for  the  Lord's  sake,  because  the 
relationship  involves  it.  Anybody  could  obey  a  very 
excellent  man,  just  as  anybody  could  love  a  very 
lovable  and  excellent  woman,  but  this  is  to  come  in 
where  they  are  unlovely,  and  therefore  He  says, 
"  In  the  Lord."    Then  He  says,  "  it  is  right." 

Vers.  2,  3.  "  Honor  thy  father  and  mother,  (which 
is  the  first  commandment  with  promise),  that  it  may 
be  well  with  thee,  and  thou  mayest  live  long  on  the 
earth."  Now  right  means  righteousness.  That 
takes  us  at  once  back  to  the  legal  code,  and  what  it 
would  be  even  in  the  legal  code.  It  is  as  we  had  in 
Chap,  iv.,  and  refers  to  the  law,  as  the  law  would 
not  allow  dishonesty  and  theft  and  murder,  and  of 
course,  being  in  Christ,  these  are  not  even  to  be 

f  named.  Some  might  say,  We  are  not  under  the  law, 
and  therefore  we  are  not  bound  to  these  things.  So 
there  is  a  reference  to  the  law.    The  law  is  always 

i  the  expression  of  righteousness  for  man  ;  and  there- 
fore when  He  says  it  is  right  He  is  referring  to  the 
law,  and  adds,  ''It  is  the  first  commandment  with 

i  promise."  Are  we  then  under  the  law  by  His  put- 
ting this  in  ?  No.  But  He  gives  you  the  thought, 
and  shows  that  the  law  even  came  in  with  a  promise 
under  such  circumstances.  We  do  not  want  the 
law  in  order  to  live  under  it,  but  it  is  to  show  how 
God  put  His  seal  on  that  obedience  to  parents.  That 
is  all.    Just  as  it  is  in  Chap.  iv.  on  the  other  matters. 

168 


Just  as  it  is  in  Col.  iii.  in  regard  to  the  law.  You 
?nay  not  do  a  thing  that  the  law  would  not  allow  you 
to  do. 

Ver.  4.  "  And  ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  chil- 
dren to  wrath  :  but  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord."  It  is  \he  Lord  all  the 
time  We  stand  always  as  a  token  of  what  God  has 
done  for  us  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  in 
Him.  We  represent  Him.  Let  us  be  what  we  will, 
husband,  wife,  child,  or  father,  we  are  to  act  thus  in 
the  Liord. 

Now  the  parent,  the  father,  is  not  to  provoke  the 
child.  It  is  done  very  often.  I  was  reading  yester- 
day of  a  teacher  that  was  complained  against  be 
cause  she  called  her  pupils  blockheads  and  fools. 
Not  very  nice  titles  in  school,  of  course,  but  parents 
have  done  it  too,  and  worse  names.  And  when  pa- 
rents say.  If  you  do  that  again  I  will  knock  your 
head  off,  —that  is  surely  one  of  the  things  forbidden 
here.  *'  Bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord."  How  is  that  ?  To  nourish  and 
cherish  your  children  as  the  Lord  does  you ;  His 
kind  of  admonition.  He  forbears  threatenings,  and 
He  is  always  gracious .  And  as  the  principle  is  given 
elsewhere,  **  Let  your  speech  be  always  with  grace, 
seasoned  with  salt;"  that  is  the  wholesome  thing; 
but  a  wholesome  word  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
provoking  to  wrath, — saying  a  thing  to  a  child  in 
anger,  and  raising  anger.  I  remember  years  ago,  as 
a  school-teacher,  when  I  wanted  to  get  the  children 
reduced  to  silence,  I  would  speak  in  a  whisper.  You 
cannot  speak  in  a  whisper  and  have  them  keep  a 
loud  voice  very  long.  There  never  was  an  ugly  word 
that  did  not  come  from  our  own  condition  of  heart ; 
the  circumstances  never  called  for  it.  Nothing  ever 
requires  that  we  should  be  angry  and  speak  sharply 
to  the  wife  or  child.  Whether  children  are  Christians 

169 


or  not,  the  fathers  are  to  act  according  to  what  He 
says.  The  father  that  is  addressed  here  may  not  be 
the  father  of  Christian  children.  ''Bring  them  up 
in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord ; "  His 
training  and  discipline. 

The  question  is  often  asked  when  we  speak  of  not 
being  under  the  law,  the  ten  commandments— what 
shall  we  teach  our  children  ?  how  shall  we  bring 
them  up  to  know  right  and  wrong,  to  observe  the 
former  and  avoid  the  latter  ?  The  answer  is  here. 
The  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  that  is,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Why  should  they  not  be  told  of 
His  death  for  sinners  and  their  need  of  that  death, 
as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  understand  love  in  their 
parents  ?  Why  should  not  the  parents  make  that 
whole  subject  ''familiar  as  household  words,"  so  that 
as  the  little  ones  grow  up  they  take  it  in  as  naturally 
as  any  other  narrative  ?  Why  should  they  not  be 
told  that  they  needed  Him  to  die  for  them,  and  then 
when  they  believe  this,  accept  it  as  a  fact  that  they 
do  believe  and  so  are  saved,  not  expecting  more  of 
them  than  the  parents  show  ?  Is  it  not  true  of  them 
that  faith  cometh  by  hearing  and  hearing  by  the 
word  of  God  ?  Who  hear  more,  than  they,  and 
who  retain  more  clearly  what  is  told  them  ?  Let 
this  be  the  thing  told,  this  the  theme,  the  joy  of  the 
family,  the  word  of  God  on  the  matter  of  salvation, 
the  authority  that  settles  everything,  giving  perfect 
assurance  and  rest.  Let  the  Lord  Jesus  be  the  nearest 
and  dearest  friend  of  all,  in  short  the  Chief  One  in 
the  family  and  in  our  lives.  I  see  no  reason  why  our 
little  children  should  not  be  all  children  of  God,  not 
by  being  ours  by  blood  but  by  believing  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  from  the  earliest  years,  nurtured  thus. 

And  then  when  naughtiness  is  exhibited,  bring  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  standard,  as  the  grieved  One 
and  the  One  through  whom  forgiveness  comes  upon 

170 


confession,  the  same  as  to  ourselves.  His  love  the 
grand  incentive  for  all  life,  His  life  ours,  His  home 
ours,  His  coming  for  us  our  hope. 

We  know  that  children  listen  to  Bible  stories  as 
they  do  to  no  other  stories. 

Ver.  5.  **  Servants,  be  obedient  to  them  that  are 
your  masters  according  to  the  flesh,  with  fear  and 
trembling,  in  singleness  of  heart,  as  unto  Christ." 
As  it  is  everywhere  else  in  Scripture,  there  is  more 
said  to  servants  than  to  any  other  class  ;  and  more 
of  what  is  sweet  and  precious,  to  lift  up  the  heart 
and  to  comfort.  A  servant  about  whom  I  knew 
something  some  years  ago  could  not  understand  that 
according  to  the  flesh  she  had  a  mistress,  and  because 
she  came  to  the  Lord's  table  and  sat  with  her  mis- 
tress she  did  not  understand  how  it  was  that  she 
could  not  sit  at  the  same  table  in  the  mistress'  house. 
Now  while  she  was  her  sister  in  the  Lord,  she  was 
her  servant,  socially.  I  think  she  understood  it 
after  a  little.  I  said  to  her,  **  It  may  be  possible  that 
in  the  course  of  time  you  will  get  married  and  be- 
come mistress  of  a  house,  and  your  mistress  might 
be  left  destitute  and  become  your  servant.  Then  it 
would  be  her  business  to  obey  you  and  wait  upon 
you  at  the  table."  The  only  way  for  a  child  of  God 
to  act  is  to  take  the  place  he  is  put  into.  If  I  am  in 
the  place  of  a  child,  I  am  not  to  be  the  father  or  as- 
sume anything  paternal.  If  I  am  in  a  servant's 
place,  I  am  to  take  it.  I  best  honor  the  Lord  Jesus 
there.  Well  then,  obey.  This  is  a  very  different 
word  for  the  servant  from  the  one  used  for  the  wife, 
be  in  subjection ;  here  it  is  obey,  and  the  master 
must  necessarily  command.  Everything  that  the 
master  tells  is  a  command.  "  I  say  to  my  servant. 
Do  this,  and  he  doeth  it."  A  servant  is  to  do  what 
he  is  told.  He  has  nothing  to  do  with  thinking  or 
planning,  or  changing  the  order  that  is  given  him, 

I7i 


I  It  is  what  we  are  to  Christ,  servants ;  we  have  no 
I  business  to  think  or  plan  or  project  anything.  You 
i  see  a  wonderful  fact  here,  that  every  relationship  is 
of  such  a  character  as  we  have  to  God  and  to  Christ. 
Husband  and  wife, — it  is  Christ  and  the  Church, 
father  and  son, — God  is  our  Father,  and  we  are  His 
sons  ;  master  and  servant, — "  One  is  your  Master," 
and  we  are  servants.  We  are  the  bride  of  Christ ; 
we  are  sons  of  God ;  we  are  servants  of  the  Lord. 
Now  it  is  for  Him  to  tell  us  what  to  do.  We  have 
no  right  to  use  our  minds  in  regard  to  it.  Take  the 
word  from  His  mouth.  We  are  all  related  to  Christ 
as  a  body-servant  to  a  man,  to  attend  Him  ;  and  He 
tells  us  exactly  what  to  do,  and  that  is  all  we  have  to 
do.  Bluster  and  intense  activity  do  not  show  ser- 
vice. If  I  had  a  body-servant,  there  might  be  a  few 
times  that  I  should  have  to  say  to  him.  Now,  stir 
around  and  do  this  !  But  the  ordinary  way  would 
be  to  do  it  with  calmness  and  quietness.  The  less 
fuss  and  noise  about  it  the  better.  Nowadays  the 
servants  are  making  a  fuss,  that  is,  the  servants  of 
the  Lord.  The  word  '*  do"  gets  in  the  way  ;  it  hin- 
ders progress.     What  is  enough  for  us  ?    Obey  ! 

Then  again,  understand  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
speaking  here  to  those  that  are  not  only  children  of 
God,  but  all  the  freshness  of  Ephesians  is  in  the 
case  ;  the  truth  that  is  here. 
Q.  Did  the  Ephesians  apprehend  this  letter  ? 
A.  I  am  not  acquainted  with  them.  If  it  was 
written  to  the  church  at  Ephesus,  we  find  not  long 
after  that  they  have  such  an  address  as  this  :  "I 
have  against  thee  that  thou  hast  left  thy  first  love." 
I  can  only  say  that  we  have  to  do  it.  When  we  get 
the  truth  that  is  given  in  the  beginning  richly  in  our 
hearts,  it  will  be  easy  to  do  the  others.  We  are  to 
be  modeled  after  them;  we  are  to  take  the  truth. 
People  write  biographies  and  tell  stories  about  dif- 

X7« 


ferent  men,  in  order  to  get  us  to  do.  It  is  not  the 
way  the  Lord  does.  In  James  it  says,  "Ye  have 
heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,"  etc.  He  had  to  wait 
a  while  and  the  Lord  brought  it  out.  Then  we  have 
in  Hebrews  the  great  company  of  those  that  were 
examples  of  faith  acting.  He  just  mentions  them, 
and  then  says,  "  Now  you  have  been  looking  at  all 
these  witnesses,  now  look  off  unto  Jesus."  There  is 
One  that  you  are  to  follow.  "  Looking  unto  Jesus, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  faith." 

Q.  We  are  not  told  impossibilities  then  ? 

A.  We  dwell  among  impossibilities  always.  The 
whole  of  what  we  take  in  is  of  that  character.  Faith 
deals  only  with  impossibilities.  Walking  by  faith 
never  says  *'try,"  but  simply  ''do."  ''Whatsoever 
things  you  have  heard  and  learned  and  received  and 
seen  in  me,  do  !"  Phil.  iv.  9. 

Now,  that  is  a  standard  above  all  our  heads.  He 
said,  "Forme  to  live  is  Christ!"  "Forgetting  the 
things  that  are  behind,  I  press  forward  to  those  that 
are  before."  He  said,  "  Follow  me,  I  follow  Christ." 
He  says,  "I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excel- 
lency of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord,  for 
whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things  that  I 
may  win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  Him,  not  having 
mine  own  righteousness."  "That  I  may  know  Him 
and  the  power  of  His  resurrection  and  the  fellowship 
of  His  sufferings,  being  made  conformable  unto  His 
death."  We  are  told  by  Paul  that  God  predestinated 
us  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son.  We  are 
told  to  follow  after  holiness  ;  to  be  imitators  of  God. 
Why,  the  truth  of  Paul  and  the  exhortations  of  Paul 
are  marvelous.  They  reach  above  everything  else 
that  you  get  in  Scripture.  They  deal  in  impossibili- 
ties. There  is  not  a  thing  that  we  are  not  bound  to 
do  as  new  men.  God  has  nothing  for  the  flesh  but 
death.    The  flesh  n^ver  had  anything  for  Him.    So 

173 


we  are  told  to  do  all  these  impossible  things.  He  did 
not  say,  Keep  your  temper  as  well  as  you  can  ;  do  not 
murder  more  than  a  little.  He  never  puts  it  in  that 
form .  How  strange  it  would  sound  to  allow  anything. 
We  are  in  the  hands  of  a  holy  Father.  We  are  in 
the  righteous  One.  The  sin  is  in  not  living  up  fully 
to  the  standard  of  what  Christ  is.  There  is  nothing 
called  for  short  of  holiness ;  absolute  separation  from 
everything  that  is  defiling,  of  the  flesh  and  the  world, 
and  separation  unto  God  the  Father  and  Christ  and 
everything  that  is  there.  It  is  as  total  separation  as 
there  will  be  when  we  are  caught  up. 

"With  fear  and  trembling."    We  find  that  word 

J  several  times.     It  does  not  mean  fear  and  trembling 

I  according  to  our  idea.      What  kind  of  a  servant 

\  would  that  be  who  would  tremble  all  the  time  ? 

There  are  three  places  where  it  is  used.     Paul's  first 

use  of  it  may  be  the  key  of  the  whole  matter.     He 

tells  the  Corinthians  that  he  was  with  them  in  fear 

and  much  trembling,  but  one  has  not  the  slightest 

idea  that  the  apostle  was  afraid  of  any  living  man. 

f  But  there  was  fear  and  trembling  about  himself.     It 

just  means  the  reducing  himself  to  nothing.     The 

.  only  fear  would  be  that  self  would  be  allowed. 

The  next  use  of  it  is  in  Phil,  ii.,  where  he  says, 
"  Work  out  your  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling." 
There  it  is  the  self  destroyed  altogether ;  as  though 
I  were  knocked  into  a  shivering  mass.  Here  the 
servants  are  to  act  in  that  way.  It  would  be  to  be 
afraid  of  himself,  but  not  afraid  of  his  master.  The 
more  he  is  afraid  of  himself,  the  less  occasion  he  has 
to  be  afraid  of  his  master.  The  boy  who  stands  up 
in  his  class  and  gives  his  lesson  with  confidence 
shows  that  he  has  been  afraid  he  would  miss  it.  The 
servant  that  has  not  a  thought  of  himself  shows  that 
that  fear  and  trembling  amount  to  something.  His 
time  and  spirit  and  body  are  his  master's.   That  is  the 

I7i 


way  Paul  was  to  the  Corinthians.    That  is  the  way> 
we  act  out  our  salvation.     You  have  it,  now  act  it 
out.    You  cannot  work  a  thing  out  that  you  have 
not.   When  he  says  that  God  works  in,  and  then  you 
work  out,  that  will  do. 

"  In  singleness  of  heart."  That  is,  having  no  self. 
It  is  unmixed.  '*  As  unto  Christ."  O  what  a  differ- 
ence there  would  be  in  servants  !  Where  would  you 
get  all  these  combinations  of  working-men,  if  every 
child  of  God  even  were  acting  that  way.  There  are 
hundreds  of  children  of  God  in  these  combinations, 
and  see  what  they  do.  Just  think  of  children  of  God 
keeping  the  world  in  agitation  by  their  unitedness, 
instead  of  being  separated  unto  God.  "  With  single- 
ness of  heart  as  unto  the  Lord."  And  that  is  the 
key  to  everything  for  the  child  of  God.  One  could 
say,  It  is  hard  to  meet  their  demands,  but  for  the 
Lord's  sake  I  will  do  it.  He  that  does  a  thing  in 
such  a  way  is  higher  than  a  king,  and  in  a  better 
place  than  the  president. 

Ver.  6.  "Not  with  eye  service,  as  men-pleasers ; 
but  as  the  servants  of  Christ,  doing  the  will  of  God 
from  the  heart."  '^JSTot  with  eye  service,  as  men- 
pleasers."  To  do  a  thing  when  the  master  is  about 
and  give  it  up  when  he  is  gone.  *^  Doing  the  will  of 
God  from  the  heart." 

Ver.  7.  *'  With  good  will  doing  service,  as  to  the 
Lord  and  not  to  men."  If  we  have  apprehended 
that  when  we  were  bad  we  were  quickened  with 
Christ,  one  would  be  a  better  husband  or  child  or 
servant  or  master.  If  not,  he  had  better  go  back 
and  get  that,  as  the  way  by  which  he  can  learn  all 
these  in  their  practical  power. 

Ver.  8.  "  Knowing  that  whatsoever-  good  thing 
any  man  doeth,  the  same  shall  he  receive  of  the 
Lord,  whether  he  be  bond  or  free."  I  am  serving  my 
master,  then,  because  1  belong  to  the  Lord, 

176 


Ver.  9.  "And  ye  masters,  do  the  same  things 
unto  them,  forbearing  threatening :  knowing  that 
your  master  also  is  in  heaven ;  neither  is  there  re- 
spect of  persons  with  him."  I  may  esteem  myself 
very  high  because  I  have  a  servant,  but  He  says, 
"  There  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God."  Here  it 
is  all  right  to  be  master  and  servant,  and  you  have 
in  this  the  kind  of  government  for  us.  And  inas- 
much as  there  is  nothing  said  about  political  position, 
citizenship,  we  will  find  no  directions  in  regard  to  it. 
Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven ;  not  here. 

Ver.  10.  "Finally,  my  brethren,  be  strong  in  the 
Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might."  This  takes 
us  back  at  once  to  the  type  of  it  in  the  book  of 
Joshua.  You  recall  that  in  the  last  of  Deut.  Moses 
spoke  to  Joshua, — "  Be  strong  and  of  good  courage." 
Then  when  we  open  Joshua,  we  find  that  he  is 
spoken  to  thus  by  Jehovah  Himself.  And  those  two 
and  a  half  tribes  to  whom  he  has  to  speak  regarding 
what  they  are  to  do,  say,  "  Only  be  strong  and  be  of 
good  courage."  Then,  too,  the  whole  of  the  people 
reiterate  that  verse,  "Be  of  good  courage."  It  is 
not  said  to  another  man,  under  any  other  circum- 
stances in  the  history  of  Israel.  You  see  why.  They 
were  entering  upon  the  land  actually  to  take  posses- 
sion of  that  which  was  then  possessed  by  the  adver- 
sary, filling  the  land  full  of  the  enemy's  gods.  And 
now  Jehovah's  people,  Israel,  have  come  in.  After 
that  Joshua  sees  the  Captain  of  Jehovah's  hosts  out- 
side the  walls  of  Jericho,  and  he  asks,  "Art  thou 
with  us  or  against  us  ?"  and  he  says,  "  I  am  captain 
of  Jehovah's  hosts."  And  Joshua  at  once  with- 
draws his  sandals,  and  stands  before  him  as  before 
God  Himself.  He  has  a  sword  in  his  hand,  and  he 
says,  "Every  place  that  the  sole  of  your  foot  shall 
tread  upon  shall  be  yours."  And  then  he  is  again 
told  to  be  strong.    There  is  an  appropriateness  in  the 

]7a 


exhortation  "be  strong"  when  fighting  is  in  order. 
They  were  now  to  fight  for  every  foot  of  the  land 
which  was  all  theirs  by  the  purpose  and  promise  of 
Jehovah.  And  they  were  now  in  it  with  the  enemy 
before  them  entrenched  in  their  walled  cities. 

We  get  more  when  we  come  to  look  at  the  word, 
"Be  strong,"  because  we  go  back  to  Chap,  i.,  where 
it  says  that  the  third  thing  that  was  asked  for  was 
that  we  might  know  the  power  of  His  might,  which 
He  wrought  in  Christ  when  He  raised  Him  from  the 
dead  and  set  Him  at  His  own  right  hand  in  the  heav- 
enly places,  far  above  all  principalities  and  powers. 
Those  principalities  and  powers  are  spoken  of  di-^ 
rectly  as  those  against  whom  we  contend.     Christ! 
has  been  raised  up  and  seated  above  them.    Satan  isl 
under  His  feet,  and  he  is  to  be  under  our  feet  prac-j 
tically. 

Then,  as  Joshua  was  to  be  of  good  courage,— and 
there  was  nothing  said  about  it  when  the  Israelites 
were  in  the  wilderness, — so  in  the  simple  matter  of 
salvation,  and  the  simple  fact  of  His  coming  to  take 
us  up  to  Himself,  there  is  nothing  said  to  us  about 
strength,  but  here  comes  the  place  of  practical  ac- 
tion, in  regard  to  the  very  thing  to  which  we  are 
called. 

The  whole  of  their  history  was  linked  with  that, 
land.  They  had  no  purpose  without  reference  to  it. 
We  know  it  from  the  fact  that  they  have  no  place  in 
the  history  of  the  world  now.  They  are  not  doing 
anything  while  they  are  out  of  the  land.  They  are 
not  giving  testimony  of  any  kind.  The  land  and  the 
people  are  married.  When  out  of  the  land  they 
are  not  counted.  That  is  very  marked  when  you 
look  at  the  account  given  in  1  Kings,  with  regard  to 
the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  where  we  are  told 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  years  since  the  time  of 
the  exodus  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  while  they  were 

111 


six  hundred,  because  the  exact  number  of  years  that 
were  not  counted  were  the  years  that  they  were  not 
in  their  place.  You  will  find  something  kindred  to 
that  in  the  history  of  the  church.  Take  the  history 
of  the  church  as  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  it  in  Chaps, 
ii.  and  iii.,  of  Kev.  You  will  find  that  there  is  a 
time  when  Christ  does  not  count  the  church  at  all. 
From  Thyatira  onward  the  church  as  a  whole  is  not 
looked  at  at  all. 

Now  having  these  elements,  we  come  to  under- 
stand what  is  her6.  Just  as  that  was  the  time  for 
fight,  when  they  had  come  into  the  land,  and  the 
fighting  went  on  until  Solomon's  time  ;  from  the  time 
of  Joshua  clear  down  to  the  time  of  David  ;  and  that 
is  our  time  down  here.  So,  having  learned  that  we 
are  in  heavenly  places,  we  are  now  to  contest  it  with 
Satan.  Satan's  purpose  is  always  to  defeat  God's 
mind  and  God's  purpose.  When  God  would  have 
Adam  in  the  garden,  Satan  came  in  and  spoiled  it 
all,  and  Adam  was  driven  out  as  the  result,  a  sinner. 
When  God  restored  things  in  the  days  of  Noah,  in 
principle  making  a  new  earth  and  putting  man  on  a 
new  ground  altogether,  Satan  spoiled  that  by  turn- 
ing men  away  from  God,  and  making  idolaters  of 
them,  so  that  they  worshiped  demons.  When  God 
called  out  Abraham  from  that,  then  Satan  at  once 
comes  in  to  spoil  it  all,  and  Abraham  goes  down  into 
Egypt  instead  of  staying  in  the  land.  When  after- 
wards God  takes  Israel  by  the  hand  and  leads  them 
out  of  Egypt,  Satan  opposes  in  every  way,  so  that  if 
God,  OD  the  one  side,  causes  the  wheel  of  the 
chariots  of  Pharaoh's  hosts  to  come  off  and  stops 
their  progress,  Satan  does  the  same  thing  with 
Israel,  stopping  them  on  every  occasion.  And  now 
when  God  has  a  heavenly  people  Satan  does  not  care 
about  stopping  the  Jews  from  going  into  the  land  ; 
he  cares  for  keeping  God's  people  from  occupying  th^ 

178 


heavenly  ground.  He  is  just  where  we  are.  And  so 
when  people  think  that  the  fight  against  Satan 
means  to  put  down  the  grog-shops,  and  to  shut  up 
the  gambling  hells,  and  to  clean  up  the  town,  they 
are  very  greatly  mistaken,  and  blinded ;  for  those 
are  the  matter  of  the  flesh  and  the  world,  and  the 
flesh  and  the  world  are  both  crucified  to  us.  Faith 
says,  *^  I  am  dead  to  the  world."  Now  faith  cannot 
make  the  devil  dead.  He  gets  people  to  fight  in  the 
wrong  field  and  not  fight  him. 

Take  an  illustration, — in  Gen.  xiv.  we  find  that 
there  were  four  kings  against  five ;  the  five,  by  their 
very  names  and  everything,  are  types  of  the  filthi- 
ness  of  the  flesh,  like  the  rum  power  and  gambling 
and  vices  generally.  The  four  kings,  from  the  place 
that  they  were  in,  represent  to  us  that  which  is  try- 
ing to  make  everything  decent,  the  religious  power. 
It  is  really  the  city  of  Babylon.  It  is  what  the 
church  comes  to  in  the  end.  Now  where  was  Abra- 
ham all  that  time  ?  He  did  not  touch  one  of  them. 
But  when  his  brother  Lot  was  taken  by  these  four 
kings,  he  fought  against  the  four  kings  and  got  him 
out  of  it.  And  that  is  our  fight  to-day.  There  is  no 
devil  at  all  in  the  vices  for  us  to  fight.  The  devil  is 
not  in  drunkenness,  but  the  lust  of  the  flesh.  He  is 
the  religious  one,  with  the  full  purpose  of  fighting 
against  God.  If  the  highest  thought  of  God  is,  '*  I  am 
going  to  bring  my  people  into  the  land,"  then  that  is 
where  Satan  must  be  to  keep  them  from  it,  and  to  block 
the  wheels,  and  to  make  it  just  what  it  was,  that  they 
never  did  take  possession  of  it.  It  is  a  very  sad  his- 
tory to  learn  that  there  came  a  time  in  the  reign  of 
Saul — who  was  Satan's  man  clear  through — that 
there  were  but  two  swords  in  Israel.  Saul  had  one 
and  Jonathan  the  other.  They  had  to  go  to  an  ene- 
my to  grind  an  agricultural  instrument.  But  they 
had  no  swords  to  sharpen.     Just  as  afterwards  in 

179 


Israel's  history  the  word  of  God  had  been  shut  uji 
for  hundreds  of  years.  Their  king  was  to  have  the 
word  of  God  fresh,  and  to  have  it  before  him  all  the 
time.  But  it  was  not  so.  And  when  a  copy  was 
found  and  brought  out  from  amidst  the  rubbish,  it 
condemned  everything,  and  Josiah  took  his  place  in 
brokenness,  and  the  truth  was  restored.  Just  so  to- 
day ;  the  multiplying  of  Bibles  by  the  million,  and 
the  covering  of  the  Bible  with  a  veil  that  grows 
thicker  every  day.  Now  all  that  is  just  what  it  was  in 
the  day  of  Israel  when  the  Bible  was  utterly  hidden 
beneath  rubbish.  Here  we  have  the  rubbish  of  ration- 
alism and  the  denial  of  the  atonement,  and  the 
rubbish  of  ritualism  and  of  worldliness.  And  they 
will  be  ready  to  come  together  directly  and  have  a. 
common  religion  in  which  Buddhism  and  Mormonism 
and  Christianity  can  come  in.  Understand  this,  that 
while  every  one  of  these  heathen  religions  will  have 
a  splendid  showing ;  when  Christianity  is  shown  it 
will  be  a  mere  travesty  of  it.  It  will  be  the  philoso- 
phy of  Christianity.  The  anti-christ  is  not  going 
to  be  filthy  any  more  than  the  devil  is.  There  was 
nothing  filthy  about  him  when  he  came  to  the  woman 
in  the  beginning  and  said,  "You  shall  be  as  gods." 
He  is  the  religious  one.  Do  you  not  know  that  one 
of  the  things  about  Satan  is  that  he  is  the  god  of  this 
age  ?  He  is  the  prince  of  the  world.  That  is  a  pretty 
high  place,  politically  and  religiously,  and  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  try  to  degrade  Satan  from  his  place 
as  prince  and  god.  There  is  where  he  deceives, 
Imaking  people  believe  that  they  are  fighting  the 
[devil.  This  shows  how  he  succeeds.  We  had  better 
ibegin  wrestling  against  the  right  one. 

Vers.  11,  12.  "Put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God, 
that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the 
devil.  For  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood, 
but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against 

180 


the  rulers  of  darkness  of  this  world,  against  wicked 
spirits  in  heavenly  places."  Now  let  us  go  back  to 
what  we  had  in  Chap,  iii.,  that  the  purpose  of  the 
church  during  the  present  period  was  that  now  unto 
principalities  and  powers  in  the  heavenly  places 
might  be  known  by  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God.  To  whom  ?  Not  to  men,  because  they  could 
not  understand  it.  "*  Therefore  the  world  knoweth 
us  not,"  because  we  are  sons  of  God.  As  soon  as  the 
church  can  be  understood,  it  ceases  to  be  for  Christ 
at  all.  It  is  inhabited  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  whom  the 
world  cannot  receive,  because  it  neither  sees  Him 
nor  knows  Him.  These  are  germinal  principles.  If 
we  are  that,  the  world  cannot  understand.  What, 
therefore,  have  we  to  do  with  the  world  ?  But  it  says 
that  we  are  to  show  to  the  principalities  and  powers 
in  heavenly  places  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God.  If 
we  are  to  show  it  to  them,  we  are  there  to  fight. 

"  Therefore,  be  strong  in  the  Lord."  How  are  you 
going  to  be  strong  ?  Strong  in  ritualism,  and  getting 
under  the  law,  and  building  up  a  moral  life  ?  Strong 
in  the  formalities  of  certain  denominations  ?  Is  that 
strength  ?  Who  said,  "  In  union  there  is  strength  ? " 
Did  God  ever  say  it  ?  Now  then  remember  that 
strength  is  not  in  man  at  all.  It  is  not  in  numbers 
any  more  than  it  is  in  your  right  arm.  "  Strong  in 
the  Lord  and  the  power  of  His  might."  What  is  the 
power  of  His  might  ?  Resurrection.  In  order  to  be 
strong  we  must  apprehend  resurrection.  That  takes 
us  clear  out  of  the  whole  thing.  *^  If  ye  be  risen 
with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are  above. '* 
**  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  bless- 
ings in  heavenly  places  in  Christ."  That  is  the  place 
and  that  is  the  one  power, — the  power  by  which  He 
raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord.  That  is  the  only  power 
by  which  we  can  fight. 

181 


*'  Take  up  the  whole  armor I^or  we  wrestle  not 

against  flesh  and  blood."  Israel  did.  You  will  all 
along  have  the  contrast.  Kesurrection  power  that 
was  spoken  of  in  Chap.  i.  is  like  the  power  of 
God  in  bringing  them  through  the  Red  Sea  and 
through  Jordan.  The  power  of  God  for  Israel  was 
shown  in  opening  the  Red  Sea  and  taking  them 
through  it.  It  is  resurrection,  in  type.  That  gener- 
ation died  that  had  gone  through  the  Red  Sea ;  and 
now  God  must  have  them  go  through  the  water 
again.  Then,  instead  of  taking  them  up  into  the 
land  which  was  presented  to  their  fathers,  He  must 
lead  them  again  and  get  them  on  the  other  side  of 
Jordan,  and  open  the  Jordan  as  He  opened  the  Red 
Sea  forty  years  before.  He  gets  them  there  when 
the  Jordan  is  at  its  flood,  and  then  He  just  as  quietly 
opens  with  the  power  of  His  hand  a  passage  through 
as  He  opened  the  Red  Sea.  It  is  the  power  of  God. 
It  destroyed  the  enemy  in  the  Red  Sea.  There  is  no 
enemy  to  be  destroyed  in  that  way  here. 

Now  look  for  a  moment  at  the  difference  between 
those  Philistines  that  were  in  the  land  and  Israel 
that  were  going  into  the  land.  The  Philistines  had 
gone  there  without  going  through  the  Red  Sea  or 
Jordan.  Their  original  home  was  in  Egypt,  and 
they  had  passed  up  into  the  land,  and  had  actually 

f  given  it  its  name.     Palestine  and  Philistine  are  the 

1  same  thing.  The  song  of  Moses  even  brings  in  the 
name  of  Palestine;  not  as  a  sweet  name,  but  as 
the  place  of  the  enemy.  Now  God  would  have 
the  people  that  were  going  into  the  land  to  be  the 
real  possessors  of  it  pass  through  death  and  resurrec- 

:  tion.  You  understand  what  the  Philistines  were 
relatively  to  Israel ;  they  were  the  people  of  the 
world  on  heavenly  ground.  They  represent  the  pro- 
fessing church  to-day  as  clearly  as  anything  can  do. 

j  How  many  are  there  among  believers  that  are  appre- 

182 


hending  that  they  are  on  heavenly  ground  ?    Did  \ 
you  learn  it  when  you  were  told  the  gospel  ?    I  am 
sure  I  did  not.     I  went  on  talking  about  the  Lord  j  ^ 
Jesus,  and  yet  not  apprehending  who  I  was  at  all,  i 
nor  knowing  what  I  was  saved  for. 

You  see  the  exceeding  importance  of  these  three 
things  that  are  prayed  for  in  Chap.  iii.  Now  it  is 
the  common  thing  and  a  common  heritage  from  our 
fathers,  that  they  did  not  know  anything  about  the 
place  the  church  is  in.  Probably,  the  large  propor- 
tion of  Christendom  is  not  saved.  That  is  just  the 
character  of  the  Philistines  that  were  to  be  driven 
out.  They  are  connected  with  Satan,  and  he  is 
the  one  that  we  are  to  oppose.  We  are  to  possess 
that  all  the  time.  How  can  we  do  it  ?  By  asserting 
our  heavenly  place ;  simply  denying  that  we  are 
under  the  law,  for  we  are  in  Christ.  Denying  that 
we  are  associated  with  ritual,  for  we  are  already  in  ^ 

the  holiest  as  worshippers.    This  is  our  place.   Deny-  ^  \a>^'* 
ing  that  our  business  is  to  convert  the  world,  but 
that  we  are  to  wait  for  the  Son  of  God,  and  to  be  .(j|V 
caught  up  to  meet  Him.     There  is  not  much  ordi-^ 
narily  said  in  the  professing  church  that  we  do  not ' 
have  to  negative.     They  do  not  begin  by  letting  a* 
man  know  he  is  eternally  saved,  and  they  do  not  go 
on  by  telling  him  that  he  stands  in  a  risen  Christ. 
They  do  not  go  on  and  tell  him  that  the  Lord  is 
coming,   but  they  keep  him    in    doubt    in    regard 
to  everything.     As  a  result,  they  make  men  in-J 
fidels. 

See,  then,  the  necessity  of  this  word,  *'Be  strong." 
Not  to  be  strong  in  our  own  resources  but  in  the 
Lord.  Remember,  He  gets  His  title  as  risen.  Now 
we  stand  in  resurrection  only.  Then  we  fight 
against  Satan  up  there.  The  fight  is  to  maintain 
the  heavenly  place  all  the  time.  It  is  just  as  Israel 
entered  their  land  and  there  stood  the  walls  of  Jer- 

183 


icho.    What  is  to  meet  it  ?    Be  strong,  first  of  all,  in 
the  One  that  is  strong. 

Then  we  wrestle  against  wicked  spirits^  and  we 

wrestle  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 

/  age ;  that  seems  to  be  connected  with  politics.     We 

i  are  wrestling  against  politics,  because  the  head  of 

\  the  world  is    Satan.      We   are    wrestling   against 

everything  that  man  is  telling  about  progress  of 

the  world.    We  are  as  definitely  against  all  that 

as  we  are  against  Satan,  because  he  is  the  head  of  it 

all.     "  The  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  age."    All 

^  that  is  against  God  and  shuts  out  Christ.    And  in  a 

:  little  while,  after  these  that  are  Christ's  are  caught 

j  up,  there  will  be  a  darkening  of  everything  that  is 

1  heavenly.     It  will  be  simply  darkness.     There  will 

be  no  light  at  all.     What  are  we  to  do  then  ?    "  Put 

on  the  whole  armor  of  God."  Not  one  piece  of  armor, 

only.    There  are  some  that  are  disposed  to  take  one 

piece,  and  talk  about  faith  simply  ;  and  people  will 

run  out  on  one  principle,  and  they  make  foolishness 

of  it.    And  there  are  some  people  that  will  get  the 

word  of  God,  but  they  do  not  know  how  to  use  it, 

for  it  has  not  used  itself  in  them.     They  cannot 

say,  "  Thy  word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart."    So  it  will 

not  do  to  take  only  one  piece.     *^  Take  the  panoply." 

It  is  a  unit. 

' '  Stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil. "  It  is  not  im- 
moral things,  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  ;  we  have  had  that 
in  the  past  chapters ;  those  filthy  things  not  even 
so  much  as  named  among  you,  any  more  than  they 
would  be  in  heaven.  The  thought  ought  not  to  come 
in.  The  idea  of  being  told,  not  to  steal  and  not  to 
murder !  You  know  that  involves  something,  that 
such  are  not  even  to  be  named.  The  real  fight  is 
against  him  who  is  hindering  us  from  being  heavenly 
in  our  walk.  "  Put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that 
ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the 

I8i 


devil.**  "Devil"  means  accuser;  as  the  serpent  he 
is  a  deceiver.  He  has  crafty  ways  ;  just  such  as  T 
have  already  illustrated  by  telling  you  how  he  has 
succeeded  in  getting  us  to  do  something  else  than 
the  things  for  which  we  are  called. 

Ver.  13.     "Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole 
armor  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in 
the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand."    Now 
this  is  the  day  of  evil.     This  is  the  day  in  which  we\ 
are  told  by  Christ,  "Now  is  the  judgment  of  this! 
^world."    The  whole  thing  is  under  judgment.     The 
prince  of  this  world  is  ruling  now ;   Satan  is  that  \ 
prince.     We  are  told,  then,  that  we  wrestle  against 
wicked  spirits  in  heavenly  places,  the  rulers  of  the 
darkness  of  this  age.    It  must  therefore  be  the  evil 
day  now.     It  must  be  the  whole  time  that  we  are 
here.    And  so  we  are  always  to  be  on  the  alert,  and 
always  to  be  fighting  against  him. 

We  notice  that  there  are  two  characters  of  armor 
spoken  of.  We  have  first  the  defensive,  including 
the  girdle,  the  breast-plate,  the  sandals  for  the  feet, 
the  shield  of  faith,  and  the  helmet;  every  one  of 
them  in  front,  as  you  notice,  involving  a  fight  with 
the  enemy  face  to  face.  There  is  no  armor  for  the 
back  in  this.  He  is  not  expecting  us  to  turn  our  back 
upon  the  enemy.  We  are  to  withstand  in  this  evil 
day.  And  then,  "having  done  all,  to  stand."  To 
stand  just  that  way,  ready.  We  withstand  by  means 
of  defensive  armor  ;  we  stand  and  use  the  offensive 
armor.     Now  let  us  look  at  the  armor. 

Ver.  14.  "  Stand  therefore,  having  your  loins  girti 
about  with  truth  and  having  on  the  breast-plate  of  ) 
righteousness."  The  girdle  was  that  which  held  to-  f 
gether  all  the  armor.  It  was  then  especially  used  ■ 
with  reference  to  the  breast-plate,  and  it  held  all  the 
armor,  and  was  to  brace  up  the  man.  We  find  in 
fighting  even  now,  when  men  stand  face  to  face  and 

185 


fight  with  their  fists,  they  always  have  a  belt.  It  is 
to  hold  a  man  together.  And  the  girdle  here  is  truth. 
Now  if  we  take  it  that  we  are  called  in  order  to  be 
saved  at  last,  that  is  not  the  truth.  If  it  is  simply 
a  question  of  our  being  made  Christians  in  order  to 
do  good,  that  is  not  the  truth.  We  have  had  the 
truth.  Chap.  i.  3.  gives  it.  The  truth  is  that  we  are 
blessed  according  to  that  full  title  of  God.  "Who 
hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ."  We  are  blessed  in  heavenly  places, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  earthly.  If  we  esteem 
ourselves  as  belonging  to  the  earth,  the  truth  is  not 
holding  us. 

In  Chap.  ii.  we  are  quickened  together  with  Christ, 
that  in  the  ages  to  come  He  might  show  the  exceed- 
ing riches  of  His  grace.  That  is  the  truth.  We  are 
builded  together  as  a  habitation  for  God  by  the  Spirit. 
That  is  truth.  We  are  eternally  saved  as  believers 
in  Christ.  That  is  truth.  If  we,  therefore,  go  halt- 
ing and  doubting  whether  we  are  saved,  do  you  not 
see  that  we  are  not  girded  at  all  ?  The  truth  is  not 
there. 

In  Chap.  iii.  we  learn  that  we  have  a  very  distinctive 
character  of  truth  that  was  not  given  to  other  ages  and 
generations  at  all ;  not  even  given  to  the  Twelve, 
but  given  to  Paul ;  and  that  our  present  testimony 
is  that  we  show  to  the  principalities  and  powers  in 
the  heavenly  places  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God. 
Anything  short  of  this  would  not  be  the  truth.  One 
would  be  without  a  girdle. 

Now  if  we  are  not  girded  in  this  way,  how  can  we 
fight  ?  How  could  Israel  fight  the  Amorites  if  they 
did  not  know  who  they  themselves  were  as  called  of 
God,  according  to  His  purposes  given  to  Abraham 
and  Isaac  and  Jacob ;  "and  He  has  led  us  all  this 
way  Himself,  and  we  are  here  in  the  land  and  it  be- 
longs to  us.     We  are  here  by  right  and  title  of 

186 


Jehovah,  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth  !"  Why,  they 
would  have  been  as  weak  as  water  if  they  had  not 
had  that.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  for  us.  And 
that  is  the  thing  to  hold  us  together.  Everything 
must  be  held  and  bound  closely  to  us. 

"Having  on  the  breast-plate  of  righteousness." 
That  would  be  maintaining  a  good  conscience.  You 
find  Paul  saying,  **For  this  do  I  exercise  myself,  to 
have  a  good  conscience  toward  God  and  toward 
man."  Moreover,  it  has  to  do  with  the  affections  and 
the  heart.  The  breast-plate  would  seem  to  express 
that.  What  is  it,  then  ?  Righteousness.  Not  only 
that  we  are  standing  in  the  righteousness  of  God, 
but  we  are  always  to  maintain  a  good  conscience,  to 
act  in  perfect  righteousness.  In  other  words,  that 
the  word  not  only  has  settled  us  as  to  where  we  are, 
but  it  also  has  affected  our  conscience  and  heart. 
1  Tim.  i.  5  :  **  Now  the  end  of  the  commandment  is 
love  out  of  a  pure  heart  and  of  a  good  conscience  and 
of  faith  unfeigned."  That  is  the  purpose ;  to  bring 
out  the  whole  heart.  See  how  we  are  equipped  in 
Romans  v.,  *'  The  love  of  God  that  is  shed  abroad  in 
our  hearts. "  That  is  the  reason  we  know  that  *  *  tribu- 
lation worketh  patience."  Witness  Chap.  i.  of  1 
Thess. :  "  Remembering  without  ceasing  your  work 
of  faith  and  labor  of  love  and  patience  of  hope  in 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  before  our  God  and  Father." 

We  get,  then,  the  great  thought  of  the  breast-plate 
covering  all  the  vital  part  of  the  man.  All  that  is 
vital  is  to  be  shielded ;  all  this  matter  of  the  heart 
going  out  toward  God  and  toward  man,  and  having 
everything  clean  before  God  as  to  conscience.  Now 
it  is  a  blessed  thing  that  God  has  opened  a  way  of 
restoring  conscience  if  we  sin.  *'  If  any  man  sin,  we 
have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ,  the 
righteous."  "  If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful 
and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us 


from  all  unrighteousness."  God  cannot  have  us  be- 
fore Him  otherwise  than  with  a  purged  conscience, 
with  a  clear  perception  of  our  place  in  Him,  and  then 
walking  in  accordance  with  it.  You  see  that  this 
comes  at  the  end  of  all  that  He  has  told  us  in  regard 
to  a  moral  walk.  It  comes  after  church  walk.  This 
is  the  very  closing  up. 

So,  then,  having  all  the  effect  of  all  the  exhorta- 
tions,— every  element  that  He  takes  up  in  regard  to 
cleanness  and  honesty  and  kindness  towards  others 
and  love  going  out  toward  every  one  and  subjection 
of  life  all  the  time,  and  all  the  multitude  of  things ; — 
after  all  that,  these  are  the  things  that  have  to  do 
with  keeping  a  good  conscience.  We  are  to  keep 
these  very  things  that  are  written.  We  are  not 
under  the  law,  but  we  are  to  be  infinitely  better  than 
those  under  the  law. 

Here  then  we  see  the  value  of  the  breast-plate ; 
that  we  cannot  be  attacked  in  that  way.  Suppose 
Satan  should  attack  me  by  saying,  Well,  you  are  a 
pretty  Christian !  See  what  you  are.  You  failed 
there,  and  you  have  an  accumulation  of  guilt  on 
your  conscience  !  Blessed  be  God,  he  cannot  accuse 
me  before  my  Advocate  Himself  makes  it  known  to 
me  through  the  word.  As  Christ  said  in  John  xvi., 
**I  tell  you  beforehand."  He  will  not  let  Satan 
accuse  us  in  that  way.  He  will  first  expose  us  to 
ourselves,  and  on  confession  we  have  it  all  put  away. 

The  breastplate,  therefore,  was  to  defend  the  body 
against  the  weapons  of  the  enemy.  So  the  defense 
fof  us  would  be  that  good  conscience  restored  and 
kept.  It  is  a  most  thorough,  sifting  and  searching 
thing.  No  man  can  use  the  word  effectually  that 
has  not  had  it  used  on  himself. 

Ver.  15.  "And  your  feet  shod  with  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  gospel  of  peace."  We  can  stand  before 
Qod  unshod.    Indeed,  we  must ;  (Exod.  iii.  6,  Josh. 

m 


V.  15.)  It  is  an  expression  of  weakness,  of  self-abase- 
ment, of  nothingness  ;  (2  Sam.  xv.  30,  Isa.  xx.  2-4, 
Ezek.  xxiv.  17-23.)  But  before  Satan  we  must  be 
shod.  We  are  strong  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord. 
And  that  strength  is  the  peace  which  we  have  through 
the  gospel.  We  stand  in  perfect  peace,  and  that  is 
our  preparation.  If  we  do  not  stand  in  perfect  peace 
and  rest  confidently,  where  are  we  ?  How  do  we 
know  but  what  Satan  says  is  true  ?  How  do  we 
know  but  that  we  will  have  to  run  into  this  avenue 
or  that,  to  get  peace  ?  Suppose  Satan  sets  us  to 
work,  as  is  his  custom  ?  He  is  willing  that  every- 
body should  go  to  work  and  clean  up  this  city.  Sup- 
pose he  tells  us,  as  some  say,  that  the  way  to  get 
peace  is  to  go  to  work.  We  have  a  peace  that  he 
cannot  touch.  We  are  standing  in  it.  Men  that 
fight  do  not  fight  barefooted.  You  would  find  that 
their  shoes  have  nails  in  them  to  hold  them  to  the 
ground,  that  they  shall  not  recede.  And  when  it  is 
said  that  every  place  that  your  feet  shall  tread  upon 
shall  be  yours,  it  is  actually  advancing.  So  we  see 
the  necessity  of  the  shoes. 

And  now  what  is  it  ?  Perfect  peace  ;  peace  with 
God;  all  settled.  Then  peace  of  heart  and  mind. 
We  have  in  Phil.  iv.  perfect  peace  in  regard  to  all 
circumstances ;  so  profound  a  peace  that  Satan  can- 
not tell  us  anything.  Take  the  case  of  Hezekiah. 
There  was  an  enemy  appeared  at  the  gate  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  he  told  the  truth  when  he  said,  "  If  I  gave 
you  ten  thousand  horses,  you  could  not  put  horsemen 
on  them.  Do  not  let  Hezekiah  make  you  think  that 
Jehovah-will  appear  for  you.  Has  not  He  punished 
you  a  great  many  times?"  That  is  Satan's  way. 
Those  are  the  arrows  that  he  throws ;  the  weapons 
of  his  warfare  are  just  that  kind.  Now  Hezekiah, 
when  he  received  the  letter,  took  it  in  quietly  and 
laid  it  before  Jehovah,  as  if  he  said,  This  is  not  my 


conflict.  And  God  did  take  it  up,  and  next  morning 
there  were  hundreds  of  thousands  dead  around  the 
walL  Was  there  not  peace  there  ?  How  did  he  get 
it  ?    He  knew  God. 

And  this  is  peace  of  heart  and  mind.  And,  again, 
there  is  another  peace  spoken  of,  Christ's  own  peace. 
He  says,  "My  peace  I  give  unto  you."  You  see 
where  it  is, — peace  of  conscience  and  heart  and 
mind ;  all  found  in  Him.  We  do  not  ask  anything 
of  the  world  to  contribute  to  our  peace.  Then  what 
a  defense  that  is  !  We  are  not  to  be  ruffled  by  any- 
thing, or  thrown  off  our  balance.  Our  weaknesses 
have  been  so  thoroughly  met  that  we  are  perfectly  at 
peace  on  that.  Then,  being  despised  down  here  is  so 
absolutely  met  up  yonder  by  the  wondrous  name  of 
sons  of  God  and  the  promise  of  the  glory  directly, 
that  we  have  perfect  and  profound  peace.  There  we 
can  stand.  We  have  taken  in  that  good  news  so  that 
Satan  cannot  win. 

Some  years  ago,  when  speaking  on  John  xiv.  about 
peace,  a  man  arose,  after  I  had  finished,  and  dis- 
tinctly denied  all  I  had  been  saying.  He  said,  '*  The 
way  to  get  peace  is  for  every  man  to  go  to  work  I" 
I  could,  since  then,  have  told  him  of  one  who  went 
to  her  pastor  and  said  that  she  had  not  peace,  and  he 
set  her  to  work  once  and  again  ;  but  she  did  not  get 
peace. 

Now  in  order  to  meet  that,  we  must  have  peace  to 
start  on,  because  the  great  thing  of  Satan  is  to  occu- 
py us  with  ourselves,  our  state,  or  work ;  with 
spreading  the  kingdom,  as  it  is  called  ;  with  enlarg- 
ing a  "cause."  There  is  a  sincerity  about  it,  but  it 
is  according  to  a  wrong  standard.  We  have  never 
had  that  as  the  word  of  God  in  regard  to  us.  He 
says  we  are  infinitely  above  that.  We  are  not  con- 
tending against  difficnlties  down  here  in  earthly 
places.     We  are  contending  against  infinitely  more 

190 


subtle  adversaries  than  that.  Look  at  Israel  for  a 
moment.  Satan  was  not  very  much  troubled  about 
Israel  in  the  wilderness.  When  God  said  that  He 
was  going  to  keep  them  there  thirty-eight  years 
more,  Satan  did  not  need  to  be  troubled.  God  had 
said,  **I  am  going  to  take  them  out  of  Egypt,  and 
plant  them  in  the  land  of  Canaan."  Their  being  in 
the  wilderness  was  not  a  part  of  God's  counsels. 
So  Satan  could  rest.  When  they  got  into  the  land, 
he  would  have  been  glad  enough  to  have  them  go 
back  into  the  wilderness.  Satan  cannot  hinder  your ' 
being  saved,  for  the  moment  you  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  you  are  eternally  saved.  What  can  he 
do  ?  Why,  he  can  cripple  all  our  testimony.  We 
are  to  testify  to  the  heavenly  places,  and  he  will 
make  us  testify  to  earthly  places.  He  will  make  us 
go  into  all  these  things  and  improve  them.  Every- 
thing is  turned  to  falsehood  in  this  case.  Now,  if  we 
are  planted  absolutely  on  the  ground,  so  that  the 
ground  and  we  stick  fast  to  each  other,  we  can  fight. 
Our  ground  is  the  heavenly  ground,  as  Israel's 
ground  was  Canaan. 

Ver.  16.  "  Above  all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith, 
wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery 
darts  of  the  wicked  one."  Breastplate,  girdle,  shoes, 
and  then  taking  up  the  shield  of  faith  !  That  is  held 
over  head,  over  body,  and  over  all, — wherever  a  dart 
comes.  What  is  that  shield  of  faith  ?  Here  it  is  not 
simply  that  I  am  saved.  You  will  find  in  Romans 
not  only  that  Abraham  was  justified  when  he  believed 
God,  but  that  is  the  way  in  which  he  walked  all 
the  way  through.  It  is  said  of  him  as  much  in  Gen. 
xxii.  as  it  was  in  Chap,  xv.,  because  he  is  walking, 
simply  believing  what  God  says.  When  he  does  not 
believe  Him,  he  is  of  course  unfaithful.  But  the 
whole  of  his  walk  is  simply  believing  what  God  says. 

Now  we  go  on  to  learn  more  and  more  about  the 
191 


heavenly  places.  In  each  epistle  that  Paul  gives  we 
learn  more  and  more  pertaining  to  that ;  how  to  live 
it  and  all  its  principles,  and  we  come  effectually  to 
do  so.  What  do  we  get  then,  in  God  ?  We  learn 
just  what  God  is.  See  how  full  of  God  this  one 
epistle  is  !  While  Philippians  is  occupied  with  Christ 
Jesus,  this  is  occupied  with  God,  as  the  originator  of 
everything.  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  We  are  listening  to  Him  and 
learning  all  about  Him.  Well  then,  it  is  faith,  not 
simply  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  which  we 
are  saved ;  but  faith  that  grows  as  we  learn  more  and 
more  about  God ;  everything  in  the  word  giving  us 
more  and  more  of  God.  Do  we  not  know  that  Satan 
is  the  blasphemer  of  God  as  well  as  the  accuser  of  the 
brethren  ?  How  can  a  blasphemer  give  us  any 
thoughts  if  we  let  God's  thoughts  fill  us  ?  That  is 
the  word,  is  it  not,  in  its  use  in  our  own  lives  ?  The 
shield  of  faith  is  thus  held  up  against  everything. 
Let  him  say  what  he  will  against  God ;  we  know 
God  !  It  meets  every  dart.  God  wants  us  to  quench 
all  the  fiery  darts.  Let  them  stick  in  that  shield. 
They  cannot  stick  in  us  if  the  shield  is  held  up.  So 
you  see  that  faith  is  the  one  thing  that  would  cor- 
respond to  such  a  shield. 

I  remember  a  brother  coming  to  me  some  years 
ago  and  saying,  ''  Now  the  hymn  that  I  used  to  sing, 
'  A  Little  More  Faith  in  Jesus,'  is  true.  I  feel  like 
singing  it."  I  said.  That  is  hardly  the  thing;  you 
want  a  little  more  than  that  I  guess.  It  is  not  faith 
in  Jesus  that  is  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures ;  it  is  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  One  who  has  died,  and 
j  riseji,  and  received  the  title  of  Lord  and  Christ,  as 

I  the  One  who  has  filled  up  the  whole  matter  in  God's 
mind. 

Faith  in  God  is  taking  all  that  is  given  of  Him, 
just  as  you  eat  and  drink  and  breathe  for  your 

199 


ii 


living  and  for  your  strength ;  taking  more  and  more 
of  the  word  of  God.  We  eat  when  we  are  hungry. 
We  can  use  the  strength  afterward  for  anybody. 
So  then,  we  are  eating  that  word  ;  we  take  more  and 
more  of  God  all  the  time  to  meet  the  demand  ;  and 
it  does  meet  it  by  giving  such  a  knowledge  of  God 
that  Satan's  shafts  are  nothing.  A  man  that  has 
God's  word  is  never  uncertain  that  he  is  saved,  nor 
what  he  is,  nor  where  he  stands,  nor  what  God  ia 
for  him.  A  man  that  is  uncertain,  has  not  God's 
word  at  all.  He  is  not  reading  it,  because  right 
before  him  is — *'He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of 
God  hath  everlasting  life."  It  comes  with  much  / 
assurance. 

Ver.  17.  "  And  take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God." 
This  is  looking  at  the  whole  matter  of  salvation, 
past,  present,  and  future.  In  1  Thess.  v.  we  have 
the  hope  of  salvation,  because  he  is  talking  about 
the  coming  of  the  Lord  all  the  time.  In  Phil,  we 
have  it  a  present  thing,  that  we  are  to  bring  out  in 
the  actions ;  and  also  a  future  thing  in  the  glory 
with  Christ.  The  soul  is  saved  by  believing  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  we  go  on  in  the  old  body 
with  a  new  spirit,  and  are  waiting  and  praying  for 
the  glory,  and  the  whole  matter  is  salvation. 

Now,  the  helmet  is  on  the  head, — the  seat  of  in- 
telligence. Our  intelligence  should  take  up  the 
grand  scope  of  this  salvation.  How  much  impor- 
tance there  is  in  that !  There  is  one  of  the  places 
where  one  can  be  most  easily  attacked.  People  get 
into  a  happy  frame  of  mind,  and  sing  that  they  are 
saved  now.  They  say,  **  O,  I  am  saved  now ! "  That 
is  not  having  the  helmet.  The  helmet  must  grasp 
the  whole  matter  of  salvation.  What  are  you  saved 
for  ?  Who  are  you,  as  saved  ?  Is  it  a  matter  of  our  \  ' 
hoping  to  get  to  heaven  to  see  our  friends  ?    Or  is  it  i 

193 


that  we  are  now  really  saved,  and  are  waiting  for 
the  glory  ?  The  helmet  is  the  full  intelligence  of 
what  we  have,  and  who  we  are.  It  takes  the  entire 
matter  of  salvation,  itself,  its  scope  and  fruition ; 
the  work  of  the  cross  and  the  work  of  Christ  now 
and  the  work  of  Christ  coming  for  us  ;  for  us  there, 
and  for  us  now  in  the  glory,  and  for  us  when  He 
comes.  Salvation  has  these  three  things  :  faith, 
love,  and  hope.  The  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in 
the  heart  now,  and  the  coming  of  the  Lord  is  the 
hope,  the  same  Lord  Jesus  who  was  on  the  cross. 
Thus  we  have  grasped  the  whole  matter.  The  man 
;  that  is  simply  hoping  to  be  saved  cannot  fight  Satan. 
''  He  is  not  fit  to  fight.     His  head  is  uncovered  ! 

You  know  that  all  truth  was  gone  in  the  time  of 
Thyatira.  It  was  Rome,  full-fledged.  You  know 
that  Sardis  was  spoken  of  as  having  a  name  that 
she  lived,  and  yet  was  dead.  He  says,  "I  have  not 
found  your  works  perfect,  i.  e.,  complete."  (See  Col. 
i.  25.)  Why  ?  Because  Luther  recovered  but  one 
truth.  He  did  not  recover  church  truth  and  the 
coming  of  the  Lord.  He  did  not  recover  the  full 
declaration  of  the  Son  of  God,  seated  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty.  One  truth  was  grand  when 
there  was  none  and  everything  was  upside-down, 
and  the  church  became  teacher  and  lawgiver  instead 
of  Christ  the  Head.  It  lacked  those  very  elements 
that  make  the  church. 

Now  salvation  involves  those  three  things,  and  we 
cannot  maintain  a  heavenly  ground  unless  we  know 
what  we  are  raised  for.  We  have  this  all  as  defen- 
sive armor.  It  is  the  word  of  God  in  its  effect  upon 
our  hearts  and  consciences  and  lives  and  walk  in 
every  way.  It  corresponds  with  drill  in  modern 
warfare.  We  must  be  drilled  in  the  truth,  having 
the  word  in  us,  affecting  and  forming  us,  from  head 
to  feet.    So  that  we  shall  be  the  standing,  walking, 

194 


living  word.  We  can  fight  only  if  we  are  girded 
with  the  truth,  and  helmeted  with  the  knowledge  of 
what  this  salvation  is,  and  shielded  by  the  faith  that 
takes  in  what  God  is  and  His  purposes  in  regard  to 
us,  and  what  He  is  in  strength  and  righteousness 
and  goodness  and  grace,  for  us.  If  we  are  not^ 
standing  thoroughly  and  positively  established  in 
this  good  news  that  has  given  peace,  we  are  not  fit 
to  take  up  the  sword.  That  is  the  reason  there  is  so 
little  fighting  done,  because  there  is  so  little  heav- 
enly living  according  to  our  calling  and  the  hope ; 
because  people  are  not  listening  to  the  word,  "  Go 
out  to  meet  Him  ! "  And  people  go  on  talking  about 
fighting  the  good  fight  of  faith,  when  they  are  sim- 
ply trying  to  hold  out  faithful  and  to  get  to  heaven 
at  last.  It  is  preposterous  and  false.  Satan  is  just 
defeating  the  whole  thing  by  getting  us  down  to 
those  things.  When  we  are  not  fighting  against 
him,  we  are  fighting  with  him.  He  is  the  god  of  this 
age.  If  we  have  not  been  drilled  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
we  cannot  use  the  sword  against  the  enemy.  We 
have  only  been  trying  to  keep  the  enemy  off  from 
us  thus  far.  You  will  see  then  that  there  will  be  no 
doubts  and  fears  and  hanging  of  heads  and  hearts,  and 
then  we  shall  not  be  occupied  with  making  this  world 
of  Satan's  a  pleasant  place,  in  simply  improving  it. 

Ver.  17.  "  And  take  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  the 
word  of  God."  All  the  former  armor  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  defensive.  While  we  wrestle,  Satan  wrestles. 
He  wrestles  with  wiles.  You  can  see  at  once  that  the 
heart  must  be  enlightened,  and  the  mind  informed, 
and  the  conscience  formed,  and  the  whole  life  con- 
formed to  the  word  of  God,  to  meet  wiles.  No  one  everv 
met  the  subtleties  of  Satan  with  anything  less  than 
the  word  of  God.  Nothing  else  can  answer  all  the 
blasphemy  of  Satan  against  God  and  all  the  untruth 
about  Christ,  but  what  God  has  given  Himself,  the 

196 


One  who  knows  all  about  Christ  and  has  delighted  in 
Him.  We  must  have  it  throughout ;  not  simply  as 
a  matter  of  intellect,  but  in  every  element  of  our 
life  as  new  men.  We  must  have  that  word  forming 
us,  to  grow  up  into  all  that  God  gives  us.  This  is 
the  only  way  to  meet  the  advances  of  Satan. 

And  now  we  are  to  attack.  The  sword  is  not  sim- 
ply a  defensive  weapon  ;  it  is  an  offensive  one  ;  and 
hence  we  have  to  make  our  thrusts  with  that  sword 
to  smite  Satan.  It  is  a  blessed  fact,  then,  that  we 
are  not  left  defenseless,  nor  are  we  left  without  the 
means  of  fighting.  Christ  said  a  great  deal  when 
He  said,  "  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans ;  I  will  come 
to  you."  *'If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  va^ 
you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done 
unto  you."  It  is  the  abiding  in  Him  instead  of  abid- 
ing in  what  we  were,  either  as  in  Adam  or  in  Moses, 
— absolutely  in  Christ,  new  men  in  heaven,  that  we 
stand  at  all.  And  how  do  we  know  anything  about 
]  that  ?  Solely  by  the  word  of  God.  There  is  not  a 
(  principle  nor  a  fact  that  holds  us  up,  that  informs 
{  us  in  regard  to  our  position,  or  in  regard  to  Christ, 
'  that  comes  from  reason,  or  is  the  outflow  from  the 
natural  man,  or  is  caught  up  by  our  native  intelli- 
gence or  ability.  It  is  s  mply  the  new  man,  and  he 
cannot  receive  anything  but  the  word.  The  Holy 
Spirit  does  not  take  the  word  of  man  but  the  word 
of  God.  He  deals  entirely  with  that.  You  are  really 
shut  up  to  the  word  then,  but  it  is  a  bounteous  thing 
in  itself.  Having  the  word  of  God,  therefore,  if  it  does 
exercise  us  vitally  and  thoroughly,  so  that  we  know 
we  are  crucified  to  everything  here  and  risen  out  of 
everything  here  into  association  and  fellowship  with 
the  Father  and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  know 
whither  we  are  bound,  and  what  we  are  as  saved 
sons  of  God  and  fellows  with  Christ,— then  we  are 
ready  for  battle. 

196 


Then  we  begin  the  defense  by  parrying  every 
stroke.  And  now  let  us  glance  at  Israel  in  regard  to 
this.  Everything  that  pertained  to  Israel  was  ac- 
cording to  God's  purpose  and  mind,  and  then  given 
out  by  His  word.  And  therefore,  let  it  be  in  start- 
ing out  of  Egypt,  or  being  in  the  wilderness,  or  get- 
ting into  the  land,  or  fighting  there,  or  afterwards 
having  everything  established  under  Solomon,  and 
going  on  to  live  and  expand  in  the  life  that  was 
given,  it  must  be  absolutely  in  accordance  with  His 
word,  and  nothing  else.  It  was  the  word  that  called 
out  Israel ;  it  was  the  word  to  Pharaoh  that  took 
them  from  all  that  was  in  Egypt ;  it  was  the  word 
of  God  to  Moses  that  brought  all  those  plagues  ;  it 
was  the  word  of  God  that  had  them  stay  or  go. 
There  was  not  a  thing  about  Israel  that  sprang  from 
man's  mind.  It  is  quite  contrary  to  the  idea  of  man, 
of  progression  and  development,  of  beginning  in  a 
rudimental  way  and  then  gradually  growing  up  into 
something  better.  The  whole  idea  of  Israel  was 
full-orbed  from  the  mind  of  God.  But  we  know  that 
they  failed  all  the  time,  and  that  they  were  cast  out 
of  the  land  and  were  broken  down  from  everything 
in  which  they  had  been  placed.  They  did  not  heed 
the  word. 

Now  look  at  Christ,  and  He  starts  out,  gathering  in 
all  the  thoughts  of  that  word.  He  says,  according  to 
Ps.  xL,  "  I  delight  to  do  Thy  will ;  Thy  law  is  within 
my  heart."  And  according  to  Psalm  xvii.,  "  By  the 
words  of  Thy  lips  I  have  kept  me  from  the  paths  of 
the  destroyer."  He  is  formed  by  the  word,  filled 
with  it,  being  its  very  expression  Himself,— the 
Word  of  God.  And  Satan  comes  with  his  assault, 
and  we  see  how  subtle  it  is,  and  appealing  even  to 
His  power  as  the  Son  of  God.  We  find  Him  an- 
swering, ''  It  is  written  ! "  And  it  meets  that  stroke 
of  Satan  completely.    When  He  is  appealed  to  as 

197 


though  there  were  in  Him  any  pride  of  life,  taking 
Him  up  to  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  **  Cast  thyself 
down!"— the  answer  is,  ''It  is  written.  Thou  shalt 
not  tempt  Jehovah  thy  God."  And  Satan  is  silenced 
on  that  subject.  Then  when  a  further  trial  is  given, 
— "  Here  are  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.  You  can 
have  them  at  once.  I  will  give  them  all  to  you  if 
you  will  fall  down  and  worship  me."  Man  fails 
whenever  each  one  of  these  is  offered.  What  kept 
Him  ?  "  It  is  written  ! "  He  could  not  have  met 
'  those  things  without  valuing  the  word  above  all 
things.  It  was  but  taking  what  Psalm  cxxxviii. 
gives :  "  Thou  hast  magnified  Thy  word  above  all 
Thy  name."    It  was  not  calling  on  the  name  of  Jeho- 

•  vah,  nor  speaking  to  Him.  It  was  not  looking  back 
.  at  past  things.  It  was  simply  the  word  that  God 
i  had  written.    It  was  taking  up  as  an  absolute  fact, 

"  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every 
word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God." 
"Thou  shalt  worship  Jehovah  thy  God,  and  Him 
only  shalt  thou  serve."  Now  they  were  realities, 
and  He  stood  and  beat  down  Satan,  and  Satan  fell. 

What  shall  we  use — our  ingenuity,  and  make  our 
plea  with  him  and  yield  half  way,  or  shall  we  stand 
perfectly  on  the  word  of  God  ?  What  has  the  word 
of  God  told  us  ?  First,  where  and  who  we  are  :  sons 
of  God  in  the  heavenly  places.  Now,  shall  we  not 
.  hold  to  that,  and  assert  it  continually  in  confidence, 
in  the  midst  of  all  that  would  destroy  it  and  the  tens 
of  thousands  that  are  going  down  into  the  world  ? 
The  word  of  God  is  enough  for  us  that  we  are  in 
heavenly  places  and  are  heirs  of  all  that  is  to  come, 

•  and  are  to  reign  over  the  earth.  Hold  on  to  these 
things  !  Then  the  food  that  Satan  would  present  to 
us  will  not  do.  He  wiU  present  science  and  wealth 
and  attachments  here.  It  will  not  do  for  such  as  we 
are,  heirs  of  the  glory.    It  will  not  do  for  those  who 

198 


are  sons  of  God.  It  will  not  do  for  those  who  are 
risen  and  seated  with  Christ  in  heavenly  places 
already.  It  will  not  do  for  those  whom  God  has 
blessed  with  the  richest  blessings.  We  look  out  to 
the  glory  that  is  beyond,  and  find  that  it  will  not  do 
for  heirs  of  all  that  glory  to  take  a  single  thing  now. 

Suppose  he  appeals  to  our  pride,  the  pride  of  life ; 
intellectual  ability,  or  what  one  has  gained  of  repu- 
tation in  any  form.  It  will  not  do  for  one  who  is 
infinitely  higher  than  all  that  to  listen  for  a  moment 
to  it.  The  dignity  that  is  reserved  for  us  will  out- 
rank all  positions  that  can  be  offered  here. 

It  is  now  the  word,  then,  as  it  is  actually  written. 
We  meet  doubts  of  salvation  by  simply  saying,  "  He 
that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  everlasting 
life."  We  meet  all  his  falsehoods  in  regard  to  the 
future  by  just  learning  what  the  word  says  about  all 
that  future.  Past,  present,  and  future  are  set  before 
us,  and  faith,  hope,  and  love  take  hold  upon  all  these, 
and  the  way  becomes  plain. 

Now,  beloved,  the  specific  word  is  in  regard  to  the 
heavenly  places  and  the  calling  on  high,  and  there  is 
not  a  word  connected  with  Israel  that  will  help  us, 
except  as  a  type.  We  cannot  go  to  their  Scriptures 
and  find  anything  taken  literally.  Ours  are  the  un- 
searchable things,  which  cannot  be  found  in  the  Old 
Testament.  It  will  not  do,  then,  to  go  back  into  Old 
Testament  methods  of  worship  or  of  living  or  of 
occupation.  We  come  against  all  this  with  the  word 
of  God  and  say,  **  We  are  not  of  this  world,  and  there- 
fore we  are  not  going  to  help  it  along  at  all."  God 
has  not  written  behind  a  veil,  and  therefore  we  will 
not  have  a  particle  of  ritual  or  ceremonial  in  worship. 
We  are  not  of  Israel,  and  therefore  the  ten  com- 
mandments will  not  do  for  us.  We  are  above  every- 
thing, and  therefore  none  but  the  very  Christ  can  be 
our  rule  of  life.  * 

199 


I  am  trying  to  bring  out  the  practical  thought  of 
how  the  word  is  used  as  a  sword— the  only  implement 
we  can  fight  with.  We  are  shut  up  to  that  word. 
We  are  cast  into  a  scene  where  Satan  is  prince,  and 
we  have  nothing  but  the  word.  Has  not  God  shown 
His  confidence  in  His  word  ?  Has  He  not  shown  us 
that  He  knows  He  has  given  us  enough  to  make  us 
capable  of  meeting  everything  ?  It  is  the  word,  and 
not  thoughts  of  men.  Hence  I  answer  everyone  who 
says,  "Don't  you  think?"  with  ''The  word  says." 
f  People  reply  to  us,  in  regard  to  the  literal  word  and 
j  ask  why  we  do  not  use  the  hteral  words  in  Ex.  xx. 
I  Simply  because  He  has  told  us  that  all  these  things 
happened  as  types,  and  were  written  for  our  instruc- 
I  tion  and  our  learning,  and  are  not  written  directly  to 
\us.  Well,  why  not  believe  that  the  believer  has  a 
portion  in  this  world, — that  the  rich  man  ought  to  be 
rich  ?  Simply  because  the  word  has  told  us  that  all 
that  Israel  was  blessed  with  is  but  a  type  for  us. 
The  word  tells  us  that.  Why  make  this  distinction 
between  Jew  and  Gentile  ?  Just  because  the  word 
does.  And  so  it  goes  all  the  way  through  the  word  ; 
the  word  defending  the  word ;  the  word  of  God  open- 
ing out  the  whole  book  to  us,  so  that  we  know  what 
belongs  to  us  and  what  belongs  to  another  people : 
and  thus  we  are  enriched  and  strengthened  and  filled 
up  and  started  on  our  course  and  held  to  it,  to  be 
valiant  and  to  fight  the  fight  of  faith. 

See  Paul,  for  instance.  He  comes  to  the  end  of 
his  life  and  says,  "  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I 
have  finished  the  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith." 
That  is,  the  truth  that  was  told  him.  "  Henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me, 
and  not  to  me  only  but  to  all  those  who  love  His  ap- 
pearing." What  had  he  done  ?  He  had  endured 
every  trial,  all  persecutions,  and  the  worst  treatment 

200 


from  Jew  and  Gentile  and  church,  false  brethren ; 
he  had  encountered  all  the  hate  and  malice  and 
wrath  of  the  Jew,  in  every  form.  And  all  that  he 
had  to  show  for  anything  that  he  did  was  that  he 
had  received  a  revelation  of  the  word  from  the  Lord 
Jesus  Himself.  "  I  have  kept  that  revelation  and 
that  faith."  He  had  fought  his  fight,  then,  having 
that  before  him.  His  sword  was  just  that  truth. 
And  into  your  hands,  beloved,  that  same  sword  is 
placed.  That  faith  that  Paul  had  given  him  is  our 
sword.  May  God  make  us  to  see  all  the  more  clearly 
that  nothing  but  the  word  of  God  means  anything. 
Let  us  remember  that  the  word  says  of  itself  that  it 
is  true  from  the  beginning.  (Ps.  cxix.  160.)  That  is, 
from  the  first  word,  clear  through.  Let  us  remem- 
ber that  the  word  speaks  of  itself  as  being  in  itself 
sufficient  for  the  man  of  God,  that  he  may  be  perfect, 
and  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works,  and 
needs  nothing  else.  Let  us  remember  that  the  word 
says  of  itself  that  it  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul ; 
that  it  is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple  ;  that  by  it 
we  are  warned,  and  are  kept  from  the  evil  one.  Let 
us  take  it  on  its  own  assertions,  and  carry  it  in  our 
hearts  until  it  becomes  the  substance  of  every 
thought,  of  every  act,  and  then  Satan  himself  must 
needs  be  foiled.  It  is  by  the  word  that  we  know 
there  is  a  Satan,  and  the  method  in  which  he  will 
approach  us.  And  so  it  is  by  the  word  that  we  meet 
him. 

Ver.  18.  "Praying  always  with  all  prayer  and 
supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto 
with  all  perseverance  and  supplication  for  all  saints." 
It  is  but  the  expression  of  absolute  dependence.  Be- 
fore we  go  into  the  fight  and  are  fighting,  we  are 
expressing  our  dependence  on  Him  all  the  time. 
"  Praying  with  all  prayer."  It  is  simply  leaning  on 
Him.    It  is  helplessness  waiting  on  strength,  find- 

201 


ing  everything  in  Him ;  and  it  is  all  the  time  the 
expression  of  helplessness,  lest  even  the  knowledge 
of  the  word  give  me  pride  and  make  me  puffed  up. 
The  more  I  know  God,  it  is  only  to  get  more  from 
Him,  and  to  say,  "  I  am  nothing." 

"  In  the  Spirit."  We  are  told  in  Romans  viii.  that 
we  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for,  but  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  us  prays  with  groanings  that  cannot  be 
uttered ;  beyond  all  our  estimates  and  ways ;  and 
that  in  accordance  with  God's  mind.  "  Praying  as 
saints ; "  praying  as  beloved  of  God,  sons  by  calling ; 
praying  as  worshipers ;  praying  as  those  intro- 
duced and  established  in  the  holiest ;  praying  as 
heirs  of  God  ;  praying  just  where  He  has  placed  us 
and  keeping  that  ground.  That  is  praying  in  the 
Spirit.  Do  not  think  that  praying  in  the  Spirit 
!  means  getting  into  a  heat  and  fervor.  It  is  praying 
according  to  what  the  Holy  Spirit  has  set  forth; 
)  praying  according  to  all  that  we  hope  to  be  when 
j  Jesus  comes,  and  glory  dawns.  Then  there  is  watch- 
ing thereunto.  It  is  that  the  mind  of  God  should  go 
with  our  prayer ;  acting  with  reference  to  the  prayer  ; 
according  as  we  pray,  so  let  us  look  to  everything. 
And  then,  **  Praying  for  all  saints."  Here  we  are 
coming  to  the  whole  scope  and  sweetness  of  Ephes- 
/  ians.  It  is  the  book  about  the  saints.  It  is  not  about 
/  Christ  as  Head ;  we  get  that  in  Colossians  ;  it  is  not 
about  our  occupation  with  Him  in  the  glory ;  that 
we  have  in  Hebrews.  It  is  not  about  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  for  each  of  us  individually,  and  we  going 
up  to  Him ;  that  we  have  in  Thess.  It  is  definitely 
about  the  saints,  and  telling  us  what  they  are. 
**  Love  unto  all  saints"  was  one  of  the  things  found 
in  these  believers.  And  thus,  while  we  pray,  we  are 
to  take  in  all  the  others,  according  to  their  standing 
and  the  purposes  of  God.  A  beautiful  example  has 
been  given  us  in  Chaps,  i.  and  iii.,  and  another  ex- 

202 


ample  is  given  in  Col.  i.  9-14.  These  are  clearly 
examples  of  how  to  pray  for  saints ; — always  accord- 
ing to  what  they  are ;  not  according  to  their  walk  or 
their  feelings,  but  according  to  where  God  has  placed 
them,  and  then  according  to  their  need,  of  course ; 
and  thus  it  is  that  we  can  always  be  confident  that 
somebody  is  praying  for  us,  if  this  is  heeded. 

Then  we  have  one  more  matter  in  regard  to  prayer. 
Ver.  19  :  "And  for  me,  that  utterance  may  be  given 
unto  me,  that  I  may  open  my  mouth  boldly,  to  make 
'nown  the  mystery  of  the  gospel."  Paul  is  alive  \ 
yet  in  every  epistle  he  has  written  !  Moses  was  alive 
in  the  day  of  Christ,  in  all  that  he  had  given.  So 
Paul  is  to-day  in  the  word.  And  then  as  we  have  in  \ 
Rev.  xi.  two  witnesses  spoken  of  that  shall  come  at  H*^ 
a  certain  time  in  the  middle  of  that  last  period  of  ^ 
seven  years  of  Daniel,  just  before  the  three  and  a  C^*" 
half  years  come,  to  testify  as  Moses  did  of  every- 
thing in  the  beginning,  and  to  hold  that  up  afresh ; 
to  testify  as  Elijah  did  when  Israel  had  sunk  down 
into  worshipping  Baal ;  then  Moses  and  Elijah,  hand 
in  hand,  testifying  in  regard  to  Israel,  and  that  in  a 
time  of  infinite  need ;  so  we,  in  this  time,  have  need 
of  a  restoration  of  Paul.  We  go  back  to  all  the  truth 
that  Ephesians  and  Colossians  give  in  regard  to  our 
Head ;  that  Hebrews  gives  in  regard  to  our  worship ; 
that  Romans  gives  in  regard  to  our  righteousness ; 
that  Thessalonians  gives  in  regard  to  the  coming  of 
the  Lord.  It  is  all  through  Paul.  We  have  but  to 
recover  it.  It  is  again  unfolding  that  which  was  lost 
for  hundreds  of  years ;  then,  what  shall  we  do  ?  Pray 
for  people  that  are  giving  any  truth  with  boldness,  or 
pray  for  Paul,  if  he  says,  "Pray  for  me."  Can  I 
pray  for  Paul  ?  Most  assuredly,  for  I  can  pray  that 
his  truth  may  be  brought  out  and  known  to  all  the 
saints.  Just  as  in  the  day  of  Jesus  it  would  have 
been  the  proper  prayer  that  Moses  might  be  known 

20d 


again ;  just  as  down  in  that  time  that  is  spoken  of  in 
Rev.  xi.,  it  is  Moses  and  Elijah ;  God  giving  witnesses 
according  to  His  own  mind,  at  the  different  times. 

And  now  ours  is  the  recovery  of  Paul,  and  there- 
fore pray  that  boldness  may  be  given  to  speak  it  in 
confidence.  What  is  given  in  Philadelphia,— '*  Be- 
hold, I  have  given  you  an  open  door,"  corresponds  to 
this,  and  so  it  shall  go  out. 

*'  And  for  me,  that  I  may  speak  boldly."    There  is 
no  other  way  but  boldness.     It  is  a  bold  ground  that 
is  given  to  us.     It  gives  us  perfect  confidence  in  the 
presence  of  God  in  the  glory.     No  apology  for  it;  no 
cringing  to  power,  or  to  general  belief,  no  compromise 
with  it;  no  saying,  "I  am  not  going  to  antagonize 
things."  Speak  the  truth,  let  it  find  what  antagonists 
,  it  will.     We  are  praying   that  it  will  antagonize 
j  everything  on  earth.    Brelhren,  there  is  no  truth  for 
\  us  but  this.     Have  we  been  at  it  ?    Have  we  been 
t  so  full  of  ourselves  that  we  have  forgotten  to  pray 
/for  the  saints  ?    Then  let  us  be  at  it  now  more  and 
'  more.    May  God  give  us  a  heart  for  all  these  things. 
Ver.  20.    **  For  which  I  am  an  ambassador  in  bonds : 
that  herein  I  may  speak  boldly,  as  I  ought  to  speak." 
Kather  a  peculiar  way  of  treating  an  ambassador  to 
put  him  in  bonds.     It  would  be  considered  the  deep- 
est insult.    It  was  meant  by  Satan  as  an  insult 
against  the  government  that  Paul  belonged  to  as  an 
ambassador  of  the  good  news,  to  get  all  out  of  the 
deep  and  terrible  condition  of  death  and  of  being 
under  the  wrath  of  God,  and  to  bring  into  the  heaven- 
lies,  in  fellowship  with  God,  in  a  new  creation.    And 
he  was  in  chains  for  that  very  thing,  because  he 
would  make  known  to  the  Gentiles  the  revelation 
that  he  had  received  from  Christ  Jesus  the  Son  of 
God.     He  would  stand  to  that  heavenly  truth.    That 
\  is  what  is  referred  to  in  2  Tim.  iv.  9,  ''I  have  kept 
•  the  faith."   As  sons  of  G  od  we  cannot  hold  anything 

204 


else.  It  is  in  itself  perfectly  satisfying  and  absorb- 
ing, and  including  everything  else,  necessarily. 

And  because  he  had  told  that,  that  he  must  go  to 
the  Gentiles,  he  is  sent  to  Rome  and  to  prison;  a 
prisoner  of  the  Lord,  really  ;  but  the  word  of  God  is 
not  bound ;  therefore  he  could  send  it  out.  He  was 
a  prisoner  for  the  Lord's  sake.  An  ambassador  from 
another  court,  in  bonds  !  What  realities  there  are  in 
such  statements  as  that !  How  thoroughly  it  makes 
the  truth  stand  out !  And  then,  that  the  bonds  should 
not  intimidate  him.  As  it  is  said  to  the  Philippians, 
**And  in  nothing  terrified  by  your  adversaries ;  which 
is  to  them  an  evident  token  of  perdition,  but  to  you 
of  salvation,  and  that  of  God.  For  unto  you  it  is 
given  in  the  behalf  of  Christ,  not  only  to  believe  on 
Him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  His  sake." 

So,  in  the  midst  of  these  wondrous  things  that  we 
have  learned  in  this  epistle,  we  get  the  opposite.  His 
treatment  by  man  and  Satan ;  but  it  gives  it  a  brighter 
setting,  casts  it  up  into  the  highest  prominence,  from 
the  very  treatment  that  he  receives  here.  It  is  very 
evident  that  if  we  hold  and  walk  in  that  truth  we 
must  separate  from  the  world,  because  it  is  purely 
unworldly. 

Q.  This  fight  is  in  which  of  the  heavens  ? 

A.  It  is  in  the  heavenly  places.  It  is  in  our  posi- 
tion as  above  the  world,  and  we  are  having  no  tie 
with  the  world  at  all  according  to  what  Christ  said 
Himself,  "You  are  not  of  the  world ;  I  have  chosen 
you  out  of  the  world."  It  is  a  complete  separation 
from  everything  that  is  here,  and  it  is  spoken  of  as 
in  the  heavenlies.  First  of  all,  Christ  is  raised  up 
and  seated  in  the  heavenlies.  That  is  where  the 
fight  is  going  on.  I  could  not  say  it  is  the  heaven 
where  God's  throne  is,  but  yet  Christ  is  seated  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty,  and  that  is  certainly  where 
Christ  is.    Then  in  Rev.  xii.  we  find  Michael  and  his 

205 


r^ 


angels  fighting  against  Satan  and  his  angels  in  these 
/I  heavenly  places.  Well,  Michael  is  evidently  Christ 
•  Himself.  The  very  name  means  *'like  unto  God.'' 
^  And  we  are  with  Him,  because  it  is  Michael  and  his 
hosts.  There  we  notice,  of  course,  the  result  of  all 
the  fight.  Satan  is  cast  down.  The  scene  in  Job, 
Chaps,  i.  and  ii. ,  does  not  refer  to  any  fighting.  It  is 
the  sons  of  God  coming  together  to  worship  Him, 
and  Satan  appearing  among  them,  and  his  field  seems 
to  have  been  down  on  the  earth.  That  is  perfectly 
in  accordance  with  the  character  of  things  in  the  Old 
Testament,  because  God  was  having  no  heavenly 
truth  to  announce  in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  hence, 
when  he  was  asked  where  he  had  been,  he  said  he 
had  been  going  to  and  fro  upon  the  earth.  So  we  see 
how  Satan  works.  He  kept  Abraham  from  taking 
the  place  that  God  would  have  had  him  in,  and  stay- 
ing in  the  land,  for  almost  immediately  we  find  Abra- 
ham going  out  of  it  into  Egypt.  Then  the  grace  of 
God  brings  Abraham  back  to  the  place  where  he  was 
before,  and  he  worships  again  at  that  altar,  and  is  in 
his  tent,  again  a  stranger.  But  we  see  Satan's  action 
there  in  making  the  world  attractive.  That  is  what 
he  does  now. 

When  God  had  Israel  on  the  earth,  Satan  would 
not  be  acting  in  heaven,  although  that  would  be  his 
!  place.  The  angels  that  excel  in  strength,  that  do 
His  commandments,  hearkening  unto  the  voice  of 
His  word,  are  represented  in  heaven.  Satan  is  an 
angel;  possibly  the  highest  angel  of  all,  the  arch- 
angel. Certainly  he  had  followers.  He  is  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air.  That  is  above.  So  we  find 
Christ  raised  up  there,  and  we  are  raised  up  and 
seated  there;  and  Satan  is  there  and  our  fight  is 
there,  with  wicked  spirits  in  heavenly  places.  By 
reference  to  Job  we  find  that  it  was  in  the  presence 
of  God  that  he  appeared. 

206 


An  illustration  is  given  very  beautifully  in  Chap, 
iii.  of  Zech.  in  regard  to  Judah  and  Jerusalem.  Of 
course  they  had  been  banished  for  their  iniquities, 
and  there  is  Joshua,  the  high  priest,  representing 
them,  and  Satan  standing  there.  He  had  done  all 
that.  He  had  kept  poor  Judah  down  there  and  got 
them  into  the  filth.  Now  we  see  how  beautiful  that 
portion  of  Ezekiel,  Chap,  xxxvi,  is,— "  I  will  sprinkle 
clean  water  upon  you."  There  was  Joshua  standing 
there  in  filthy  garments.  Now  put  them  together. 
God  was  going  to  cleanse  them  from  idolatry,  and 
the  word  comes,  "  Take  away  the  filthy  garments  !" 
And  then  the  prophet  himself  says,  "  Let  them  put  a. 
fair  mitre  upon  his  head."  There  is  the  crown  that 
belongs  to  the  priest.  All  is  restored,  but  Satan  is 
the  one  that  is  rebuked.  "Is  not  this  a  brand 
plucked  from  the  burning  ?"  Passed  through  the 
fire,  is  the  idea.  Now  that  is  Satan  coming  down 
here  and  so  he  could  say,  **  Going  to  and  fro,  and  up  [ 
and  down  the  earth."  The  church  is  seen,  in  the 
word,  up  there,  and  therefore  it  is  a  direct  struggle. 

Q.  Then  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Christian  on 
the  earth  ? 

A.  No,  except  to  try  to  make  us  fond  of  it,  and  to 
go  on  with  it ;  to  cover  the  thing  with  a  glamor  and 
attractiveness,  so  that  man  will  go  on  with  it.     To 
make  him  enter  into  all  the  worldly  ways  in  accord- 
ance with  man's  notions.     But  we  really  do  not  be-  :> 
long  here.    We  must  always  see  ourselves  where  the  • 
Scripture  places  us.     Israel  was  counted  as  nothing 
if  they  were  out  of  the  land.     We  are  not  counted  J 
when  we  are  not  apprehending  our  place  in  heaven.  ( 
Heb.  iii.  6.    We  walk  by  faith,  but  in  the  last  it  shall 
be  sight.    Israel's  conquest  was  by  faith  until  the  day 
of  Solomon. 

Yer  21.     "  But  that  ye  also  may  know  my  affairs, 
a,nd  how  I  do,  Tychicus,  a  beloved  brother  and  faith- 

?07 


f ul  minister  in  the  Lord,  shall  make  known  to  you 
all  things."    That  is  linking  himself  so  closely  with 
them,  that  he  knew  they  would  want  to  know  all 
about  him.      The  apostle  stands,  not  only  as  the 
teacher  and  the  apostle  of  the  truth  of  the  heaven- 
lies  to  the  church,  but  also  as  the  representative,  in 
many  respects  outlining  in  his  own  life  the  history 
and  action  of  the  church.     As  he  says  in  2  Tim.  iii : 
"You  have  known  my  teaching,  my  manner  of  life, 
my  persecutions."    These  are  the  three  things  con- 
nected with  Paul :  his  teaching,  and  his  way  of  life, 
and  the  persecutions  that  the  church  truth  caused. 
If  he  had  gone  along  with  the  world,  there  would 
have  been  no  persecutions.     If  he  had  had  no  perse- 
cutions, the  offense  of  the  cross  had  ceased.     How 
did  he  get  into  the  heavenly  places  but  by  the  cross  ? 
If  we  are  not  persecuted,  then  the  offense  of  the 
cross  has  ceased.     It  would  tell  a  bad  story  for  us  ; 
for,   all  who  will  live  godly  must  suffer  persecu- 
tion.    Now  it  is  not  very  severe,  but  it  is  ours  to  re- 
ceive scorn  and  neglect  and  opposition,  at  home  and 
in  society.    One  may  say  he  does  not  feel  it.    That  is 
all  very  well.     I  might  stand  in  the  midst  of  flames, 
and  be  so  filled  with  delight  in  Christ  that  I  would 
not  feel  the  flames.     That  is  possible.     It  has  been 
so.     But  the  flame  would  be  very  real ;  it  would  kill 
me.     So  it  may  be  persecutions  that  I  am  enduring, 
though  by  grace  lifted  above  them. 

Paul's  life,  therefore,  was  exceedingly  important 
in  regard  to  church  truth  and  the  whole  walk  of  the 
church;  the  doctrine  and  administration  of  the 
church.  So  he  says,  "Concerning  my  affairs."  In 
the  book  of  Acts  we  find  that  Paul  very  decidedly 
represents  the  church ;  in  its  getting  into  Judaism, 
and  getting  into  prison  as  a  means  of  discipline.  The 
church  is  no  longer  free  when  it  gets  off  its  ground. 
I  am  quite  sure  that  nobody  would  say  that  the 

S08 


church  is  where  it  was.    Individuals  are,  but  where 
is  the  power  of  former  days  ?    Where  are  the  mira- 
cles and  signs  ?    Where  are  all  the  gifts  of  the  early 
day  ?    It  is  not  worth  while  to  try  to  imitate  them  in 
order  to  assert  them.   It  is  not  a  proper  confession  of 
the  truth.     We  can  build  up  nothing.     We  can  ap- 
point nothing.    We  just  bow  and  confess  that  the 
whole  thing,  as  far  as  profession  is  concerned,  is 
ruined.     But  God  is  not  ruined,  and  Christ  is  not 
ruined,  and  the  real  body  of  Christ  is  not  ruined.     If 
we  can  find  it,  it  is  not  ruined.     That  is  all  perfect  \ 
and  complete.     When  the  last  one  is  gathered  to  it,  ^ 
we  will  be  caught  up.    Thus  we  see  the  beautiful  i 
idea  of  the  apostle's  sending  word  about  himself.        / 

Ver.  22.  '*  Whom  I  have  sent  unto  you  for  the 
same  purpose,  that  ye  might  know  our  affairs,  and 
that  he  might  comfort  your  hearts."  Why  should 
such  a  thing  as  that  be  put  at  the  end  of  such  an  im- 
portant epistle  as  we  have  here  ?  It  is  important 
that  they  should  know  his  life  as  an  apostle,  and  they 
would  want  to  know  how  it  goes  with  him.  Tychicus 
will  tell  them,  for  he  is  a  faithful  servant  of  the  Lord. 
He  proposes  here  to  comfort  their  hearts.  How  de- 
lightful !  To  count  on  their  having  such  fellowship 
with  him  that  they  would  need  to  be  comforted  con- 
cerning him. 

Ver.  23.  "  Peace  be  to  the  brethren,  and  love  with 
faith  from  God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Faith  is  what  receives  all  these  things.  It 
is  the  simple,  open  heart  to  take  in  everything. 
**  Peace  and  love  from  our  God  and  Father."  By 
faith,  you  see.  And  '*  From  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 
Keeping  the  dignity  and  title  of  both  God  and  Christ. 
In  connection  with  the  church  He  is  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  truth  about 
Christ  is  that  He  is  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

Ver.  24.  ''  Grace  be  with  all  them  that  love  our 

209 


Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  Amen."  Love  is  not 
mere  sentiment ;  as  we  had  it  in  speaking  about 
husbands  loving  their  wives.  Sentiment  cannot 
always  be  commanded,  but  action  can.  So  loving 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  an  action.  2  John  says, 
"This  is  love,  that  we  walk  after  His  command- 
ments." Love  is  never  a  thing  that  is  merely  ex- 
pressed ;  as,  *'0,  how  I  love  the  Lord  Jesus!" 
There  is  no  warrant  for  it  in  Scripture.  There  is  an 
immense  warrant  for  our  telling  how  He  loves  us, 
and  how  He  loves  the  church.  This  is  love,  that 
you  do  His  commandments.  That  is  the  expression 
of  love.  And  therefore  He  says,  "  Grace  be  with  all 
them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity." 
It  is  the  acting  out  in  perfect  righteousness  Christ's 
own  love. 

Q.  Are  we  not  commanded  to  love  Him  with  all 
our  hearts  ? 

A.  No.    Did  you  think  you  were  ? 

Q.  "  Thou  Shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God " 

A.  Well,  let  us  look  at  it.  Christ  was  down  here 
upon  the  earth  among  the  Jews,  and  had  not  died 
yet ;  had  not  been  made  Lord  and  Christ,  lifted  up 
into  the  heavens ;  had  not  become  the  object  of  faith 
as  the  invisible  One.  He  was  down  here  among  the 
Jews  to  establish  a  kingdom,  and  to  be  their  king. 
Now  a  Jew  comes  to  Him  and  says,  "  What  is  the 
first  great  commandment  of  the  law  ?  "  And  He  says, 
**  Jehovah  thy  God  is  one  God,  and  thou  shalt  love 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  mind  and  strength." 
Are  you  Israel  ?  Does  it  say  anything  about  loving 
the  Lord  Jesus  in  all  this  ?  You  ask  whether  we  are 
not  commanded  to  love  the  Lord  J  esus  Christ,  and  I 
say.  No.  The  quotation  is  not  about  our  Lord,  but 
about  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel.  Jesus  was  down 
here,  and  was  raised,  and  is  seated  in  heaven.  We 
have  died.    Now  where  are  we  ?   Coming  out  a  new 

210 


man,  you  must  have  a  new  life,  new  principles,  new 
rules,  a  new  scene,  and  everything  new  !  *^  If  any 
man  be  in  Christ,  there  is  a  new  creation  ;  old  things 
have  passed  away,  and  behold  all  things  have  be- 
come new  ?"  '*  But,  if  any  man  love  God,  the  same 
is  known  of  him"  (1  Cor.  viii.  3).  He  need  not  be 
boasting  of  it,  but  rather  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord, 
in  afflictions,  that  he  is  counted  worthy  to  suffer 
persecutions  for  Christ's  sake. 

May  God  use  these  simple  words,  meant  to  open 
this  wonderful  letter  to  our  hearts  and  minds  and 
consciences,  to  the  honor  of  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 


THE  END. 


UNLESS  YE  HAVE  BELIEVED  IN  VflIN!" 

1  Cor.  XV.  2. 

Knowing  what  I  well  know,  what  would  it  be 

To  find  all  false  ?     To  be  bereft 
Of  Christ,  my  Life,  of  God,  of  certainty 
Of  sonship,  fellowship  ? — What,  then,  to  me 

In  the  sad  universe  would  there  be  left  ? 

To  suffer,  in  one  awful  hour,  eclipse 

Of  all  that  has  been  truth  and  bliss  ? 
Of  all  the  glowing  light  that  more  than  tips 
The  future  scene  ?     What  horror  that  the  lips 

Could  utter  ever  could  be  matched  with  this  ? 

No  Heart  of  love  for  me;  no  Mind  to  guide; 

No  purpose  in  the  maze  of  life ; 
None  to  forgive  me  when  I  step  aside 
From  right;  no  light  on  all  that  may  betide; 

No  explanation  of  this  wearying  strife. 

No  meaning  in  affliction ;  none  that  cares 

For  what  I  do,  of  good  or  bad ; 
No  spiritual  or  moral  standard ;  prayers 
And  praises,  faith  and  hope,  delusive  snares; 

What  would  or  could  there  be  to  make  me  glad  ? 

0  dread,  chill  lonesomeness  I    All  in  me  set 
And  fitted  for  this  One,  these  gifts, 

And  filled  with  longings — never  to  be  met  I 
My  birth,  a  mockery ;  and  life,  regret ; 

An  ever  deepening  grief  which  nothing  lifts  I 

1  love  the  folly  of  believing  all, 

More  than  the  wisdom  that  denies; 
The  learning  that  would  make  my  earnest  call 
To  Love,  only  the  tossing  of  a  ball 

Into  the  air,  that  cannot  reach  the  skies. 

The  whole  vocabulary  of  delight 

The  whole  of  living,  walk  and  fruit 
Is  in  the  grasp  of  faith ;  that  makes  it  sight 
To  the  new  man  and,  clearing,  too,  the  night, 

Gives  what  will  his  exacting  nature  suit.  M  T. 


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